One And The Same
by e472318
Summary: A new ally arrives and splits up SG-1. A new enemy returns to regain their foothold in the galaxy. Set early season 7 and obviously AU after that. Warning: Does not have graphic depiction of, but does mention sexual assault and attempted rape.
1. Trouble

"Your orders are to go directly to the designated coordinates, secure the entrance to the cavern, then seal the entrance with explosives," General Hammond stated.

The four members of SG-1 all sat around the table in the briefing room listening to the details of their next mission. Teal'c sat motionless while appearing to give the General and his guest his full attention. Carter's eyes kept drifting to the visitor, who would meet her gaze every so often. Daniel actually looked bored, seeing as this was a purely military mission. And Jack sat leaned back in his chair looking down at his hand tapping a rhythm on his knee.

"Did you get all of that, Colonel?" Hammond asked Jack with some exasperation in his voice.

"Yes, sir. Bury the rebels in their cavern. Could I ask a crazy question though? Why exactly are they rebelling?" Jack asked Hammond or Danwig, the commander of the Helvecon ship in orbit around Earth.

Danwig broke eye contact with Sam to give Jack a cross look.

"Colonel O'Neill, if you must know, these rebels consist of people we relocated from inhospitable living conditions. Many prefer their old laws and ways of justice to ours, and have decided to use violence as their method to enact change to society."

Jack could instantly tell that Danwig was lying through his teeth, and this heightened his suspicions even more than they already were.

Three months ago, SG-10 encountered the Helvecons on a routine trip through the gate, and found potential trading partners and military allies. When the Helvecons scanned the composition of the Earth, they discovered an abundance of the element Thatrium, which hadn't even been discovered yet by Earth's scientists. They use Thatrium in the construction of their ships, and offered significant defense technology in exchange for it.

It wasn't every day that they found a more advanced civilization willing to share technology, so the White House made securing a treaty with the Helvecons a priority. Those talks led to the current arrangement. Not only were they trading Thatrium for defense technology, but they had come to a mutual defense agreement. It seemed that while the Helvecons looked like regular humans, their military might was completely dependent on their ship and automated defense technology, where Earth obviously had significant experience in ground combat. In their first mission as member of this alliance, SG-1 was chosen to assist the Helvecons.

"General, do all of your soldiers question the orders of allies before carrying them out?" Danwig asked Hammond.

"Oh, don't worry Dimwit, the General will tell you that I question the orders of our own people too," Jack helpfully added.

"It's Danwig," he growled at Jack.

"Right. Well sir, that's all I've got," he brushed off Danwig and returned his attention to Hammond.

Jack could feel the glare from his second in command burning into the side of his face. Despite, or maybe in part because of, Daniel's excitement about the links between the Helvecons and a similarly named old Germanic tribe on Earth, Jack hadn't liked Danwig since he met him a couple of months ago. His skin crawled around him, and Jack was sure something was amiss. But he had no proof of anything, and sometimes he had to wonder whether the dislike was because of his interest in Carter, and her interest in him.

At first, he just took it in stride as another alien that was besotted with his Major, but when she reciprocated, it made Jack sick to his stomach. Funny enough, that's how he was pretty sure something else was up. When it was Sam on his mind, there was a bowling ball in his gut and knife in his chest, not the skin crawling, sense of danger that he often got around Danwig.

"Alright SG-1, you embark in an hour. Dismissed," Hammond ended the briefing.

…

After SG-1 stepped through the gate on P5G-292, they began in the direction of the rebel cavern that they were to destroy. The terrain was very arid with almost no vegetation in sight, and it was relatively flat and rocky with some small hills scattered around. Jack scanned the area and other than a lone building a short way in the distance, there was nothing else around. When they reached the building, Jack looked in the windows and saw what appeared to be holding cells. He figured it was some kind of prison, and he wanted to get in there to see if he could satisfy his curiosity about these rebels.

"Stop," Jack ordered them.

"What is it, sir?"

"In the briefing room, I could tell that Duncan was lying his ass off about the rebels. Before we go and blow up their cavern, I would like to find out what the real story is."

"But sir, those weren't our orders, and I get the feeling the General isn't going to be too happy if you improvise on this one," Carter told him.

"Carter, let me worry about our orders. You just worry about mine. Let's go kids."

Jack looked around the outside of the building for a way in, and saw a couple more windows in the back, but no other entrance other than the front door. The team then walked around to the front and up to the guard.

"Howdy there. We're here from Earth to take care of the rebel problem for you. We just wanted to see if there was any information we could find that would help us on our mission," Jack greeted the guard.

"All of the information you need was provided by Danwig," the hulking white clad man replied without any expression on his face. Jack was taken aback for a moment, wondering how this lackey out here in the middle of nowhere was so familiar with their mission.

"Really? So there's nothing in there that might help?"

"Visitors are not permitted."

"Right. Thanks."

Jack then led the team back around to the back of the building and tried to open one of the windows, but it was locked. He fished through his bag for something to try to unlock the window when the aforementioned guard walked around to the back of the building.

"What are you doing back here?"

"Just taking a leak, no need to get your panties in a bunch."

Jack pretended to zip his pants and led his team away from the building when he saw that the guard was just going to stand there watching them.

"That was a close one, Jack. I wouldn't mind learning more about the rebels either, but I don't know if we want to push our luck here," Daniel chimed in.

"I share O'Neill's curiosity on this matter," Teal'c added.

"I don't think it's a good idea, guys," was Sam's advice.

They continued their trek toward the coordinates of the cavern when suddenly, they heard Hammond's voice over the radio.

"SG-1, report back to base at once."

They all had puzzled looks on their faces.

"On our way, sir," Jack answered.

...

When they got back through the gate to Earth, Hammond called up them up to the briefing room immediately.

"Colonel, what the hell?" Hammond asked him before they even sat down.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"I just got my ass chewed out by the president. Jack, I know I've always given you a lot of latitude out in the field, and for good reason, but you've been in the Air Force long enough to know that you have to follow orders."

"What are you talking about?"

"About ten minutes before I had to call you back, our gate opened up from P5G-292. We didn't receive any communications, but that doesn't mean our guests didn't."

"You mean Igor called his boss because I asked him to get into that building?" Jack was incredulous.

"It would appear that way, son."

"What the hell? They don't like us asking questions. They don't like us looking around. What are they hiding?"

"Sir, we don't know that they're hiding anything. Maybe they just expect our military personnel to follow orders," Sam growled at him.

"Jack, the higher ups aren't happy about this. I'll do everything I can to protect you, but I don't know what's going to happen. At least the rest of your team is safe because they were following your orders."

"Thanks, sir. It's really that big of a deal? I've done much worse before. Hell, I gave the drill instructors in boot camp a harder time than this."

"I know. I'll let you know when I hear something. Dismissed."


	2. Goodbyes

"You rang, sir?" Jack asked as he walked into Hammond's office the next morning.

"Jack, I have some bad news. They are reassigning you. I don't know where yet, but you're no longer on SG-1. Hell, I'm hoping you'll still be here at the mountain."

"What!? Who made that decision?"

"The Air Force Chief of Staff."

"Son of a bitch! These bastards really have that much influence over our military?"

"It looks like it. I did everything I could, called in favors, but it didn't do any good. I'm sorry, Jack."

"Not your fault, sir. Thanks anyway. You promoting Carter to take over the team?"

"I'm considering it."

"That would be my recommendation, sir. If it matters."

"It does, son. I'll keep that in mind. I need to assign a new member to SG-1 today, are you going to break the news before I do?"

"Nah, you can do it, sir. I'll talk to them when I know what I'm going to be doing."

"Ok, well I'll call you in when I get word of your next assignment."

Jack nodded and hung his head and turned to walk back out of Hammond's office.

...

An hour later, the three members of the flagship team were waiting for General Hammond in the briefing room.

"What do you think this is about?" Daniel asked.

"I am unaware, Daniel Jackson."

"I wonder where the Colonel is," Sam added.

"Colonel O'Neill will not be joining us, Major," Hammond announced as he walked in.

"Sir?"

"Colonel O'Neill has been reassigned. I'm here to inform you that Captain John Horton will be assigned to SG-1 as your fourth member."

"What!? He's been reassigned? Where?" Sam asked frantically.

"We don't know yet. He was planning on telling you when he finds out."

"This is because of the last mission?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, Dr. Jackson. I pulled all of the strings I could, but it wasn't good enough."

"They can't do this!" Daniel shouted.

"I find it hard to believe that your leadership is foolish enough to withdraw a warrior and leader such as O'Neill from the fight against your enemies," Teal'c growled with fury lighting up his eyes.

"I know, Teal'c. They seem to believe that the presence of the Helvecons reduces or eliminates the threat. Anyway, Major Carter, you are the new leader of SG-1 and will receive a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel."

Sam was startled out of her stupor by this and snapped her head back up to look at the General.

"Thank you, sir."

"That's all for now, folks. You're dismissed."

As Hammond left the room, Sam was filled with mixed emotions. The Colonel not on SG-1. Just the thought of it felt like an anvil sitting on her chest. She would miss him out in the field, but she knew sooner or later his disregard for orders was going to come back to bite him. Still, she doubted they would take him away from the mountain. He was too valuable. She forced the negatives out of her mind to dwell on the positives.

She will be leading SG-1. She was a bit nervous, but excited about that. Silver oak leaves. Her father will be so proud of her. So will Danwig. She had been seeing Danwig since shortly after he arrived for the negotiations, and it was going well. He was attractive, intelligent, and kind. They're both military, so they can relate. She didn't have to hide her work from him. As long as she ignored the silent knot in her gut, she could convince herself that her life was perfect, career and love life. She put a smile on her face and left the briefing room.

…

The following morning, Jack arrived early at the mountain with an envelope in hand. He would find out today what his new assignment was, but he knew that chances are he wasn't going to like it, so he brought his letter of resignation with him. Today was also Carter's promotion ceremony, so he would stick around for that, and probably never set foot in the mountain again.

In a bit of a daze, he made his way to Hammond's office and knocked. He opened the door when he heard "Enter".

"Sir, what's the verdict?"

"Jack, sit down. They are reassigning you to MacDill."

"MacDill? What the hell for?"

"Something about working with SOCOM, they didn't give me any details, son."

"Wanted me as far away as they could get from this place, huh? It really doesn't matter, sir," Jack offered and handed over his resignation.

"I can't say I didn't see this coming. I'll put it through, Jack. You deserve that much."

"Thank you, George. It really has been an honor, sir."

"I just can't believe after all of your antics over the years, this is what chased you out of here."

"Yes, well, we didn't have to answer to our new friends before either. Anyway, sir, I wanted to ask a favor."

"Sure, Jack."

"I wanted to ask if I could pin Carter today. It being my last day and all, it would mean a lot."

"That is one thing I can do for you, son."

"I appreciate it, sir."

With that, Jack left Hammond's office and went to find his t…, well, former teammates.

...

Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c were all gathered in Daniel's office when Jack walked in the door. Sam immediately noticed the sadness in his eyes before he quickly schooled them.

"Morning, kids," Jack announced himself with a false cheerfulness in his tone.

"Any news, sir?" Carter asked him.

"Not 'sir' anymore, Carter. I'm retired."

"What!? They couldn't have forced you out for this?" she snapped indignantly.

"No, they were going to send me to SOCOM HQ, so I retired instead."

"MacDill?" she asked, and he nodded.

"In Tampa? What the hell are they doing, Jack? Why would they try to take you away from this place?" Daniel asked him.

"I don't think our new friends care to have me in a position to deal with them, Danny boy."

"I doubt that, sir. Danwig said he was doing everything he could to get you out of trouble for this."

"Yes, Carter, I'm sure he was," Jack quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm, which surprised Sam. She knew that the Colonel didn't like Danwig from the start, but she really didn't look too hard into why that could be. He didn't give any specific reasons, so she just ignored it. Danwig didn't seem to show the Colonel any undue animosity, so why wouldn't he want to help?

"O'Neill, I pledged my loyalty to you in defense of the people of this world. I will not be able to continue in service of those that would cast aside a hero of this and many people throughout the galaxy."

"Don't say that, T. They still need you around here. Everything will go on the same, probably better without me holding you guys back. I'm just a dumb, old soldier that disobeyed orders one time too many."

"Sir, how can you say that? It will never be the same without you around here."

"Relax, Carter. You've been ready for command for a long time. You don't need me around here anymore. You'll be great."

"That's not what I was talking about, sir."

"Why, what else is there?"

That shut her mouth. She sucked in a sharp breath at the pain she saw flash in his eyes. Before she could come up with anything to say, Daniel butted in again.

"Jack, aren't there any people you know or favors you could pull to stop this?"

"Not this time, Daniel. Hammond tried, and even if I could, I wouldn't waste them cashing in on this. It wouldn't be the last time this happened, especially with the Helvecons running the show now."

"Anyway, guys, I just wanted to let you know. You know how to get in touch with me. It's been an honor."

"Indeed it has, O'Neill." Teal'c grabbed Jack's forearm in a Jaffa handshake. Then he turned and left the room.

…

It was 1700, time for Carter's promotion ceremony in the gate room. Jack was walking down the hall in his dress blues when he saw Sam and Danwig standing just outside the gate room. Carter was laughing, then leaned in and they shared a passionate kiss.

The bowling ball in Jack's gut never really went away anymore, but it felt like it grew a few inches, choking off his air supply. Nevertheless, he held his breath, put on his mask, and walked right past them into the gate room. He went and stood next to General Hammond at the top of the ramp.

Once Carter and Danwig entered the room, everyone stood at attention in the gate room and awaited the General's words.

"Folks, we are here to honor the exemplary service of our own Major Samantha Carter. Here is her long time commanding officer."

Hammond then stepped away from the podium and Jack stepped up to it.

"It's my honor to be here this evening to preside over the promotion of Major Samantha Carter to Lieutenant Colonel. Major, please come forward."

She looked a bit taken aback, but did as ordered. Jack then turned to face her, his eyes completely shuttered tight.

"The President of the United States, acting upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Air Force, has placed special trust and confidence in the patriotism, integrity and abilities of Major Samantha Carter. In view of these special qualities and her demonstrated potential to serve in the higher grade, Major Samantha Carter is promoted to the permanent grade of Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force."

"Colonel, raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, insert name."

"I, Samantha Carter."

"Having been appointed a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force," Jack continued, Sam repeated.

"Do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

"That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same."

"That I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion."

"And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which I am about to enter, so help me God."

Jack then pulled a worn, black box out of his pocket with his own silver oak leaves inside and opened it up. Sam's eyes got huge and moisture was gathering in the corners. He then removed her gold leaves and pinned on her new insignia.

"Congratulations, Colonel."

As Jack saluted her, he cracked a smile, allowing his pride and love for her to show through his eyes, causing Sam to let out a small gasp, and then handed her the worn box with her gold oak leaves in it.

"Goodbye, Sam," he whispered in her ear before turning on his heel and leaving the gate room as everyone else was making their way to congratulate her. She just stood and watched him leave with a dazed look about her.

...

One evening a few days later, Jack sat on his roof just staring up at the darkening, twilight sky. He had packed his truck for Minnesota and was planning on leaving in the morning, so he was just going to relax, well, at least as much as he could, until then. Suddenly he heard a car pull into his driveway. His treacherous heart hoped that it might have been Carter, but that was quickly dashed when he heard Daniel's voice.

"Jack, you up there?"

"Come on up, Danny boy."

Daniel and Teal'c climbed the ladder to his rooftop retreat.

"What brings you guys here?"

"O'Neill, I am here to inform you that I will be returning to Chulak to join the ranks of the Free Jaffa."

"T, I wish you wouldn't, especially if it's because of me."

"It is, O'Neill. If your leaders feel that your world is safe enough that they do not require your service, then it is safe enough for me to choose to fight the Goa'uld with my people."

"I understand, Teal'c. Good luck out there. And come visit me at the cabin sometime."

"I will endeavor to do so, O'Neill."

Teal'c then grabbed Jack's forearm in the way he had done many times before and said, "You are my brother, and I will always be available to fight at your side."

"Aw, come on T. You're gonna get me all soft and emotional like Daniel here." Jack released his arm and gave him a quick man hug.

"When do you leave?"

"As soon as we return to Stargate Command."

"You guys can hang out for a while if you want."

"I wish we could, Jack, but I have to get back there and help Sam find a replacement for Teal'c. We have a mission tomorrow."

"Right. Duty calls. See ya, Daniel. Take care of yourself big fella."

"And you as well, O'Neill."

"Later, Jack."


	3. New Starts

"I'll take point with Major Webster. Captain, you and Daniel take our six. Let's move out," Colonel Carter ordered the newly formed SG-1.

Their mission was the one that cost Colonel O'Neill his job, so she was going to make sure it got done right. She followed the same path that they took the last time, ignoring the prison on the way. As they approached the entrance to the cavern, she raised her hand and crouched down. She saw three rebels out in the open, but no one else outside of the cavern.

"I'll take left, Webster, you get middle, Horton, you get the one on the right."

"Yes, ma'am," they replied in unison.

They fired and quickly took down the three rebels, then Sam led them to a small crater in the dirt just outside the entrance to the cavern where they dove and took cover. The entrance was very narrow, probably not more than four feet across, so it shouldn't take more than one C4 charge to block it. After peering over the edge and seeing that the coast was clear, she led the team down into the cavern. They didn't encounter any resistance inside, so when they were about 15 feet in, she planted her C4 on the wall, and they ran back out. From there, she detonated the charge and collapsed the entire hillside up to the point of the explosion, leaving the rebels no way out on this end.

On the way back, she was surprised at how easy that was. It was like the rebels had no training at all, and from seeing the bodies, they weren't very well equipped either. They looked like peasants with hunting rifles. She supposed that would make sense. Danwig said it wasn't a widespread problem, and the people were relocated from poorer areas.

As SG-1 returned, General Hammond and Danwig were waiting for them in the gate room.

"Well done, Colonel," Hammond greeted her.

"Thank you, sir."

"That's why you got this position, honey," Danwig added.

Sam just smiled at him and headed up to the briefing room with the others.

…

Jack sat on a chair parked out on the dock at his cabin with only a near empty bottle of Johnny Walker Black and a glass to keep him company. Having all of this time on his hands was not good for the haunted, lonely man with more demons than almost anyone.

So retirement wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Was anything? He had nothing to do, no friends, nothing but his own personal hell to occupy his mind. He heard from Daniel every so often over the past four months, but had only heard from Sam once, a few weeks after he retired.

It was just a simple "Hi. How'ya doing? and Why didn't you warn me about all of the paperwork team leaders have to do?" She broke the call short when her alien boyfriend was beeping in the other line. It was just as well; he was losing the ability to function around the two of them anyway. He had promised himself to her long ago, but she made no such promises, and now he knew that the chain of command wasn't what was keeping them apart anyway. Maybe retirement was the best thing that could have happened.

Of course, getting hammered every day and night probably wasn't very healthy, but whatever. What did he need health for? Others were saving the world now. He'd done his duty. He could close in on himself and die in peace.

He was snapped out of his lovely thoughts by suddenly appearing on Thor's ship.

"Thor! Buddy! How'ya been?" Jack asked with a slight slur to his words.

"Greetings, O'Neill. I have come to request your assistance."

"Sorry, Thor. I'm retired. And drunk."

"I can remedy your inebriation."

"Like hell you will! I spent a lot of time getting this drunk."

"Why is it that you have resigned your position at Stargate Command?"

"Well, it was either that, or get stuffed behind a desk babysitting special ops that have nothing to do with the Stargate."

"Why would they move you to such a position?"

"Because our new masters didn't like me very much."

"I do not understand, O'Neill."

"We entered into a treaty with a race called the Helvecons. They offered advanced military technology and a defense agreement in exchange for some element that is plentiful on Earth."

"For what reason did you fall out of their favor?"

"I asked too many questions, didn't want to follow their orders. Wanted to investigate why we were doing something instead of just doing it. I don't trust them, so I was just following my gut, but the Helvecons didn't like it very much."

"This is not good, O'Neill. As you are Earth's ambassador to the Asgard, a decision like this could affect Earth's status in the Protected Planets Treaty. But more immediately, I am in need of the services of SG-1."

"Well, don't kick us out of the club just yet. And SG-1 is still around. Carter, Daniel, and two guys I never heard of."

"It is your expertise specifically of which we are in need. I also do not detect the life signs of Major Carter, Daniel Jackson, or Teal'c."

"They must off world then. Teal'c might be free. He went back to Chulak when they threw my ass out."

"You and Teal'c will have to suffice then."

"Hey, I didn't agree to anything! What do you need?"

"Another member of the protected planets treaty is being attacked, and in our war with the Replicators, we do not have the resources available to defend this world."

"What? One of your ships can take on a bunch of Goa'uld."

"They are not being attacked by the Goa'uld. The enemy are the Aelva. For centuries, they were enemy of the Asgard. They would take planets by any means necessary, and strip them of all resources. Their indiscriminate killing and/or enslavement of the indigenous peoples caused us to intervene. Their military was technologically comparable to the Asgard, but as we advanced beyond them, we were able to end the conflict and come to a peace agreement confining them to their home world. It had been many decades since we had heard from them, but now they attempt to take Anteria."

"For cryin' out loud, another advanced bad guy?"

"I'm afraid so, O'Neill. I am hopeful that if we can repel this invasion, it will set them back in their efforts to reestablish their former power base."

"If you can't handle them, just what the hell do you expect me and Teal'c to do about it?"

"It is your tactical mind of which we are in need for this mission. You have many times led an inferior force to victory over a superior opponent. If you can withstand the invasion for sufficient time, we will eventually be able to render assistance."

Jack was already sobering up, and drunk or not, his mind was always sharp, so he took all of this in and considered his options. In the end, the decision was easy. He didn't mind helping out Thor, and his life on Earth was pretty much over anyway, so why not?

"Fine, Thor. It's not like I've got anything better to do. What kind of gear do these Anterians have?"

"They have firearms somewhat similar to your Earth weapons, but less advanced."

"Will that do any good against the bad guys?"

"They can be effective in close combat."

"Ok, buddy. Let's see if Teal'c wants to help out. I just need to grab a weapon or two and I'm ready to go."

"I am most grateful, O'Neill."

…

After picking up Teal'c, who instantly accepted the mission, Thor flew them to Anteria and beamed them to the headquarters of the resistance. They appeared in the middle of a makeshift underground office looking directly at a clearly frightened man.

"Who are you!?"

"Jack O'Neill. This is Teal'c. Thor sent us down to lend a hand."

"Ok, yes. He said he was sending down a warrior to lead the resistance. I am Joshen. I guess you could say I command this facility."

"Guess I could say? Tell me, Joshen, is there any military organization here at all?"

"No, not at the moment, sir. We never really had a need for it with Thor protecting us."

 _Sir? I hate that word, but we might need to start using it around here._

"That's just great. What do we have for equipment and personnel?"

"This tunnel houses about 250 fighters. We have enough rifles for everyone, but not much else."

"Right. Good of Thor to leave out that we are starting from scratch here. So if you don't have anything down here, what the hell kind of war is going on on the surface?"

"Not much of one anymore. The enemy has pretty much taken control of everything. We try to raid their buildings for food and supplies, but that's about it right now."

"What kind of leadership do you have? Since you have no military officers, are there at least people in command positions?"

"We do have several squad leaders."

"What fighting have they experienced? I need to know what kind of respect they will command from their people."

"All of them have seen some combat with their squads. I don't have knowledge of their individual relationships though."

"That'll have to be good enough. Tell all of the squad leaders to meet me here at sun up."

"I will take care of it, sir."

"Okay, where are my quarters, I need to come up with a plan."

"You can take these quarters and this office attached to them, sir."

"Thank you, Joshen. You're dismissed."

After Joshen left the room, Jack sat on the wooden stool behind the slab of concrete they were using as a desk and scrubbed his hand over his face.

"Well, T, fine mess we've gotten ourselves into this time."

"Indeed."

"How in the hell are we going to do anything against these guys? 250 fighters living in an old subway tunnel?"

"O'Neill, we have always persevered in the face of long odds in the past. We also have ample experience in helping others fight for freedom."

Jack sighed.

"I guess. Okay, Teal'c, for tonight you can take the office. We'll get you some quarters tomorrow."

With that, they turned in for the night, ideas racing through Jack's mind as he tried to sleep.


	4. Introductions

The next morning, Jack met with the 20 squad leaders individually in his office. Remembering his own basic training from (way too many) years ago, he taught them a number of drills to prepare their teams, how to handle their weapons, how to take cover, basic hand-to-hand drills, and the like. Then he asked them to assemble their squads in the large room where the main tunnel opened up into what looked like used to be a sort of train station. When everyone was present, Jack addressed them.

"Listen up, folks. I'm Jack O'Neill. The large man beside me is Teal'c. Thor sent us down to put together some kind of defense against the invaders upstairs, so that's what we're going to do. From now on, this is a military operation. You will refer to your squad leader as 'sir' or 'ma'am'. You will follow their orders regarding instruction or combat without question. I have showed them some basic drills to start preparing you for the fight that will be ahead. I am always available if you have questions or concerns.

What I want to do now is to meet everyone, one squad at a time, and then get a quick assessment of your hand-to-hand abilities. Squad leaders, ready your units."

Jack took the time to meet each group, assessing everything, including the squad leaders. There were several men that could probably handle themselves in a fist fight, and a few that were security officers before, so they knew how to handle a gun, but there wasn't a whole lot to work with. He had to make sure these people were drilled relentlessly until at least some of the basics came second nature to them or he would just be leading them to their slaughter in battle. He sat on a short concrete wall, eyes closed and massaging his temples with his right hand. Oh well, at least he had something to do other than sit and drink and dwell on his morbid thoughts.

The final group of the day came over see Jack, led by their squad leader, Tomas.

"Sir, squad 14 reporting as ordered."

"At ease, Tomas. I want each person to come up and spar with me for a few minutes, then I will have a chat with them individually, starting with you."

"Yes, sir."

Tomas joined Jack up front and was quickly put onto his back. They started again, and like most of the day, Jack had a counter for every move he tried and put him down quickly. He then showed Tomas a few moves and ordered him to make sure his team were drilled extensively. He repeated this with the other members of his team until the final fighter stepped up.

It was a woman, a rather stunning woman if he were honest about it. She was young, at least compared to him. Probably about Carter's age or a bit younger, he surmised before promptly shoving the thought away. She was about average height, had shoulder length brown hair with a slight curl to it, and had the greenest eyes he had ever seen, almost like emeralds looking back at him. He didn't even notice her until she stepped to the front. The entire time their group was there, she stayed in the back and didn't say a word. He also noticed that she was the first woman he had seen today. It wasn't terribly surprising that it was mostly men here; even on Earth the number of men in the military dwarfed the number of women. But he would have thought there would be more than one out of 250.

When they began to spar, he immediately recognized that she was a better fighter than anyone else in her unit. Jack dodged and blocked her until she swept his feet out from under him, landing him on his back. She helped him up, and they squared off again, this time Jack going a bit harder, trying something a little more advanced than the basic moves he'd used all day. She was ready for it though, and took him down in a wrestling hold. He quickly countered and reversed their position with him on top of her, immobilizing her, but he had been very impressed that she was able to take him down in the first place. He reached his hand down to help her up.

"What's your name, soldier?"

"Maya, sir. Maya Rincon."

"Where did you learn how to fight, Maya?"

He didn't miss the dark shadow cross her bright eyes before she schooled them.

"It's just something I picked up, sir. I haven't had any formal training if that's what you're asking, though I would definitely be willing to do that if my performance was unsatisfactory..." she rambled but Jack held up a hand to cut her off.

"Relax, Maya. Unsatisfactory? Hell, you were probably the best one of I've seen all day. I was just curious, that's all."

"Thank you, sir."

He led her a few feet away from the rest of her team.

"Maya, I have a question. Why is it that you are the only woman I've seen here?"

She looked surprised at his question.

"Being a soldier isn't a woman's job on Anteria. Do you have women serving as soldiers where you come from?"

"Yes, we do," he answered and quickly blocked any thoughts of one woman soldier in particular. "But I thought there wasn't a military here, so whose job was it to be a soldier?"

"There wasn't, but there are specific professions that are considered acceptable for a woman, and anything to do with fighting would not be among those."

"I see. Why are you here, then?"

"To fight the invaders. The resistance needs people, so I didn't think they would refuse me the opportunity. I had no desire to work in a bakery or a clothing factory while our people are dying."

Jack just nodded. It's not like he didn't see this kind of societal arrangement countless times over his years traveling the galaxy. He was just concerned that her presence was going to be a problem with the men.

"Maya, how have you been treated on your team."

He saw another unidentifiable look pass her face before the schooled neutralism again, setting off a warning in his head.

"It's been fine, sir."

"Listen, Maya. I'm not from here. Where I come from, women can do any job that men do. I don't judge people based on anything other than their abilities and contributions. I also need to maintain order down here, so if you have any problems, I want you to let me know, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You're dismissed."

...

"Do you wish to discuss what preoccupies you, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked Jack after he entered the Jaffa's quarters that evening and just sat down silently for a few minutes.

"Sorry, T. I'm just trying to figure out what the hell we're going to do here."

"Indeed. The lack of training puts these people at a severe disadvantage."

"They might be better off if we just stopped fighting on the surface and regrouped until we have people that are capable of defending themselves."

"It appears that much of the land on the surface has already been conquered, O'Neill. There may not be another option."

"Yeah, you're right. I better get to work then. Thanks, buddy. I'll see you in the morning."

Teal'c simply bowed his head and Jack left the room.

The next morning, Jack summoned Joshen to his office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Joshen, it is possible to communicate with the other resistance groups around Anteria?"

"Some of them. It isn't a centralized operation."

"I need to speak to them. If the situation everywhere else is the same as here, we are just dying needlessly by attacking the Aelva when we aren't ready. I want to the resistance to lay low until we are trained and equipped well enough to actually put up a fight."

"I will get to work on it, sir."

"Thanks, Joshen."

...

"Can you really tell me you are enjoying this, Sam?" Daniel asked her.

"Daniel, I'm just following orders. That's what we do," she growled back, fed up with his complaining.

It was still dark in the early morning hours where SG-1 was hiding out around a food storage facility, awaiting another raid from the rebels. The building has been hit several times recently, but this time, the Helvecons wouldn't be caught off guard, having SG-1 stake out the building as long as it took. They have already been there for three nights, and Daniel's whining has been working on her last nerve.

"I'm thinking about resigning when we get back," Daniel informed her.

"What!? Why? You've always loved traveling through the gate."

"Yes, I did, and still do. But come on, Sam. Maybe you like this, but I didn't come back after ascending to become a mercenary for an alien military. We don't explore anything anymore, or meet new races. We kill rebels."

"Daniel, it's what we need to do. When this rebellion is put down, we'll be right back out there again."

"If you say so, Sam. I don't know. We don't know how long this will go on. We don't even know why they're rebelling."

"Yes, we do. Danwig already explained this," she spat at him.

"I wonder if Jack was on to something. Hey, have you talked to him lately?"

"No, Daniel. I've been a bit busy."

"I've been trying to get a hold of him for a week or so now. I hope he's doing okay."

"I'm sure he's fine," she grumbled, now wishing he would go back to his whining rather than talking about this.

Daniel was about to respond when she heard a crack and some rocks falling behind the building. She held up a hand to cut him off.

"Everyone in position." she whispered to her team.

There were five rebels making their way for the front entrance of the building. None of them even bothered to check the perimeter, so they had no idea that SG-1 was there waiting for them. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Three of them were picked off by Webster and Horton from behind the building. Sam took care of the two that made their way to the front. She ordered them to stay quiet until she knew there weren't any more rebels coming. After a few minutes they all relaxed.

"I guess we can head home. Pack up your gear," she ordered.


	5. Concern

Even though ammunition was limited, Jack had the fighters do some shooting in that open subway station. It might seem like a waste, but if they didn't learn how to shoot, sending them up top to fight would be an even bigger waste. Jack monitored all of the proceedings, hoping to quickly train them up before they ran out of bullets.

Right now there were three teams shooting, squads 13, 14, and 15, and Jack was watching them closely. Romar, the leader of squad 13, was quickly moving between team members, adjusting their technique, and it seemed that he had all of their attention and respect. They were one of the best units he had seen so far. They seemed to be pretty good shots and had a good commander. A little more work and he could count on them out in the field.

Then Jack looked over to squad 14. Tomas was also instructing his men, but Jack noticed right away that he said nothing to Maya as she struggled to hit her target with the rifle. Her elbow was too far away from her body and the butt of the gun too low for her shoot accurately, both of which should have been corrected by her CO. After a few more minutes of the same story, Jack walked over to them. First, he walked over to Maya.

"Maya?"

She startled and turned to face him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Turn back around. Let me give you a couple pointers. You're going to hurt yourself shooting like that."

She did as ordered, and Jack moved her elbow in toward her center, underneath the rifle, and moved the butt of the rifle against her shoulder.

"Try it like that."

She took a few shots and was dead center on the paper target with each of them. She turned back and gave him a shy smile.

"Thank you, sir."

Jack nodded to her and let her get back to shooting while he walked over to Tomas. He grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the team.

"What is it, sir?"

"Tomas, you want to tell me why I had to go and give Maya the same instruction on her rifle that I have already given you?" Jack growled at the man.

"I don't know, sir. Maybe it's just too much for her to handle."

"Or maybe it's because she isn't being trained!" he snapped.

Tomas opened his mouth to speak, but Jack cut him off right away.

"I don't give a damn how things were done here before, but they are going to be done differently now. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Maya is on your team. She will be afforded the same respect as every other team member, and from what I can see, she is as good a soldier as anyone here. She is expected to respect your orders, so you are expected to earn that respect. Are we clear, Tomas?"

"Understood, sir."

"Now, get back to your team."

...

Daniel had been trying to get in touch with Jack for three weeks now, and still hadn't heard back from him. During their last conversation a little over a month ago, he knew Jack sounded in a bad way, and with everything that he had gone through in his life, Daniel could only imagine what he might do if he got too depressed. He was pretty sure that Sam never called him, just going by her snippy attitude whenever his name was mentioned, and Daniel clearly remembered the misery on Jack's face when Sam and Danwig were around each other. If those were the thoughts filling his mind these days, he was terrified of what his friend was capable of doing to himself.

SG-1 had a rare couple of days off, so he decided to stop by Jack's house in Colorado Springs. He doubted that he was there, but since he didn't have time to visit him at the cabin, he figured he might as well see if Jack sneaked back into town without telling anyone. As he approached Jack's house, he noticed moving trucks at most of the houses on the street and wondered what the hell was going on.

He walked up to Jack's door and unlocked it with his key. After opening the door, the stale, dusty air instantly told him that no one had been here for months. He then closed back up and turned to walk back to his car before running into a middle aged woman.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had seen Jack recently?" she asked him.

"No, I haven't. Sorry. That's actually why I came by, to see if he was here? Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well, yes. Everyone on the street got a notice that this neighborhood was being taken by the government under eminent domain. We tried to fight it, but there was nothing we could do. I know he is gone a lot with the Air Force, but I was hoping to see him before he came back and found out that he didn't have a home anymore."

Daniel was stunned for a moment.

"Did anyone say what they were taking the neighborhood for?"

"They didn't say, but after some digging we found out it was for some mining company to set up here."

"How much time do you have to move out?"

"A couple more weeks yet."

"Thank you. I'll find him and let him know."

Daniel turned and walked back to his car with his mind racing. First of all, he felt bad about Jack losing his house, but also he grew even more worried. Why wasn't he here packing? That notice would have been forwarded to him up at the cabin. Daniel called him again, and left yet another message. He considered calling Sam and telling her what was going on, but she was planning to be gone all weekend with Danwig and made it quite clear that she did not want to be disturbed.

He made the decision to get on the next flight to Minnesota and see what was going on. After landing and grabbing a rental car, he made the drive up the cabin. His mind conjured up all kinds of awful scenarios on the way, and he feared the worst when he pulled into the gravel driveway and saw Jack's truck parked there.

Daniel took his pistol with him, just in case, and went to the back of the cabin. There wasn't much light left in the day, so he checked outside first. He didn't see anyone out there, but there was a glass and empty whiskey bottle on the dock. He picked up the glass and saw that the bottom was filled with about an inch of water. It hadn't rained recently, so the glass was out there at least a few days. He then opened the door, turned on his flashlight, and walked inside. Relieved that he didn't find Jack's dead body, he searched every inch of the cabin looking for anything that would tell him where he went, but found nothing. He didn't know what else to do for the moment, so he spent the night on the couch at the cabin before his flight back to Colorado in the morning.

When he got to the mountain Monday morning, his first stop was to General Hammond's office. He knocked on the door and entered.

"General, do you have a minute?"

"Of course, Dr. Jackson. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you've talked to Jack recently."

"It's been a couple of months now. Why?"

"Well, sir, I've been trying to get in touch with him for a few weeks and he hasn't returned any of my calls. Saturday, I decided to stop by his house here in the Springs and I saw a bunch of moving trucks on his street. Apparently the whole neighborhood is being taken under federal eminent domain, and the people only have a couple more weeks to be out of their homes. Jack's house hasn't been touched in months, so I don't know if he is even aware. I decided to fly up to the cabin and his truck was there, but there was no sign of him, and it looked like he hadn't been there for some time either."

"That doesn't sound good, but I don't know what we can do anyway. He's retired. We wouldn't be allowed to use Air Force assets to look for him. I can make some calls, but I'm not sure what good it will do."

"Thanks, General. Let me know if you hear anything."

"I will, Dr. Jackson."

...

Jack sat on the wooden stool in his office sipping a local liquor that the guys told him about. It was pretty much a brandy made from one of the fruits common to the area; he forgot the name, didn't really care anyway. It was a long day, and he just needed something to take the edge off.

Four other resistance leaders, along with several of their men, came by to try and coordinate some kind of strategy and a training regiment. The five groups combined barely totaled half of the overall resistance, but it was better than everyone doing whatever they wanted. Luckily, Thor made an appearance to them before he arrived, so they knew what the deal was. Jack drilled them in the same fashion that he did his own people. He went over some basic battle tactics with them. Most importantly, he got them to agree that other than raids for necessary supplies, they would no longer engage the enemy on the surface for the time being.

The raiding parties usually consisted of between five and ten men, at least half of which were usually killed, so they were very costly in terms of man power. He hoped that with having some basic knowledge of tactics and better prepared people, it would reduce the number of casualties, which brought something else to mind.

"T, you about ready for some action again?"

"What did you have in mind, O'Neill?"

"I'm thinking that I want to get more weapons and ammo in here, and I also want to find out what our people are made of. The only way to do that is to face some live fire."

"Indeed."

"I want to take some of the squad leaders so they can experience the planning and the op itself. Joshen and Romar are good, so they are coming."

"Rinald has also shown strength and skill, and also that he possesses the trust of his team," Teal'c added.

"Yeah, he can come, too. What do you think of Tomas?"

"I believe he may in time be a useful warrior, but I understand you are concerned about his behavior toward Maya Rincon."

"There's something off there, T, but I can't put my finger on it. It seems to have gotten better since I chatted with him the other day."

Teal'c just nodded his head.

"I won't tolerate that kind of crap down here, even if I have to make a brig to throw him in. And Maya is pretty damn good. We don't have such an abundance of good soldiers that we can afford to lose her."

"Indeed. She has shown considerable ability as a warrior."

"Yeah, and there's a story behind that too, but I'm not going to go there unless I have to. Alright, T, I'm turning in."

"Be well, O'Neill."


	6. Action

It was 0900 the next day when SG-1 was in the briefing room awaiting General Hammond for the details on the day's mission. Sam noticed that Daniel looked a little weary and wondered what was bothering him, so she decided that she would talk to him after the briefing. She looked over to Captain Horton and Major Webster, but they just sat there exhibiting nothing but military discipline while waiting for their orders. They were excellent soldiers, so she had no complaints with them. She just kind of missed the days when she simply enjoyed the company of her team. Horton and Webster were almost like androids that were programmed to be soldiers without a personality at all, and Daniel seemed to be unhappy more often than not lately. Her woolgathering was interrupted by the General's entrance. Herself, Horton and Webster rose to their feet.

"At ease, please. SG-1, today we're going over the Helvecon weapons facility that has been taken and held by the rebels for over a day now."

"They actually took it? How, sir? They barely know how to fire their guns?" Sam asked him.

"I don't know, Colonel. But the Helvecons haven't had the chance to install their security turrets at this location, so that probably made it a bit easier."

Hammond went to describe their objectives, the number of rebels thought to be inside the building, and other details. After the briefing, he wrapped up.

"That should be about all. You and SG-7 embark at 1130. Oh, Dr. Jackson, I wanted to let you know that we don't have anything yet on Jack, but I do know that he isn't involved in any ops, official or otherwise, for the U.S. government."

Sam snapped her head up at hearing his name. Why on Earth would the General be looking for Colonel O'Neill?

"Thank you, General. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem, son. I'm worried too, and I'll let you know if I hear anything. Ok, SG-1, you're dismissed."

After the others left the room, Sam called out to Daniel.

"Daniel, hang on a second."

He turned tired eyes toward her.

"Yeah, Sam?"

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. How was your weekend?"

"Nice. Great actually. You look a bit worn out. Is everything okay? What was all of that about the Colonel?"

Daniel sighed and told her about his weekend. That there was no trace of Jack at the cabin and his house in Colorado Springs was going to be demolished in a few weeks.

"Oh, God. Well at least he won't be homeless since I assume he lives in Minnesota anyway. But all of us did have quite a few memories in that house."

"Sam, didn't you hear me? We don't even know where he is! Aren't you concerned at all?"

"Daniel, of course I'm concerned, and as soon as we can, I'll go with you to Minnesota to see if we can find any clues. But we have no idea where he might be. He's retired. Maybe he's traveling, sightseeing in Europe. He could be anywhere."

"And not take his phone? Sightseeing? Does that really sound like Jack to you?"

"I don't know Jack, Daniel. I know Colonel O'Neill."

She was surprised as Daniel's eyes flashed and hardened as he spat, "They're the same man, Sam. But you know that. You just like to pretend that you don't."

She watched him turn on his heel and stomp out of the briefing room.

...

Meanwhile, in Jack's underground office, he was seated at his desk and joined by Teal'c, Joshen, Romar, Tomas, Rinald and two of the other squad leaders. This would be the team he takes on tonight's raid. He decided to take Tomas along not only to get him some experience, but also to give him a chance to see what Jack is capable of. He had a feeling that the capital he had from being sent by Thor was running out, and he was going to need to maintain the respect of the troops.

"Joshen, what do we know about their defenses?" Jack opened the briefing.

"Well, sir, the last time we were there, we sent eight men, and only one returned without even getting into the building. He said there was some kind of rotating weapon firing at them from inside."

"A turret? Was it manned? Or automated?"

"I'm not sure, sir."

"Teal'c, hopefully your staff weapon can take care of it."

"I will do my best, O'Neill."

"Ok, what about personnel?"

"They had two guards at each entrance, one in front, one in back. I don't know how many they had inside that time. The other time we went, before they had the turrets, they had six men inside."

Jack then went over the plan. He would take Tomas, Rinald and Joshen on a hill just east of the building, Teal'c would take the others into a small patch of trees to the west, giving them a view of their perimeter and both exits. After taking out the guards, they would enter through the window of a small storage room that Jack doubted had any enemies or turrets in it. He would wing it from there.

Later that night, both groups were in position. Jack fired his rifle and put the bullet right through the temple of the first guard. On his shot, the others opened up, making quick work of the rest of the guards.

"Stay down, there will probably be others coming out that heard us," Jack ordered them.

Tomas, however, wasn't listening. He stood up to make his way down the hill when a guard ran out the front door and aimed right at him.

"God damn it, Tomas, I said stay down!" Jack yelled at him as ran over to tackle him. The guard fired and Jack turned his body to shield Tomas from the shot as he was bringing him down. He got grazed in the shoulder and started cursing. Joshen took out the guard and Rinald got one more than ran outside.

"Shit, that hurts. What the hell were you thinking!? When I tell you to stay down, you stay down! It's my job to protect you, and I don't need to die because you can't follow orders!"

Tomas had nothing to say after Jack's eruption other than, "Sorry, sir."

When no more guards appeared, Jack took his group to rendezvous with Teal'c near the rear entrance.

"How many did you get back here, T?"

"We vanquished three guards in total."

"Alright, let's go boys."

"You're hit, sir," Romar told him as he eyed the blood stained shoulder of his shirt.

"I'll be fine, Romar. Let's get this over with."

They crept over the window that Joshen identified as a storage room, Jack shined his flashlight inside. He saw nothing but a few cardboard boxes, so he took his knife and jiggled it in the lock until the window was open. He slid it up and the six of them climbed in. Jack made his way to the door and cracked it open. He peeked through and saw a guard talking to someone on some kind of communicator. Jack grabbed his Beretta, took aim, and shot the guard in the back of the head, snapping his head forward and killing him instantly as he dropped to the floor. When no one came to his aid, he opened the door a bit wider and saw that the hallway was clear.

"Ok, let's go. Stay low," he whispered to the others.

They cleared all of the hallways except for the main entrance, and had yet to encounter any turrets. Jack then led the group down the stairs to the main weapon storage area. He crept slowly down each step, and as he lowered his foot to reach the next one, energy weapon fire began spraying the stairway and hitting his foot. It stopped when he picked his foot back up, leading Jack to believe that it was an automated turret, because a person wouldn't have stopped firing, they would have come after them.

"For cryin' out loud!" he cried through gritted teeth.

"Okay, sir?" Joshen asked him.

"I'll be okay when we get out of here. Teal'c, I'm going to jump over the rail here and land behind these crates. That should give me some cover. Then throw down your staff weapon and I'll try to take care of the turret."

"I will do so, O'Neill."

So Jack did just that. Directly to the left of the staircase were several stacks of steel crates, so Jack vaulted over the railing. It was only a six foot drop or so to the floor, but it did leave him exposed to the turret for a moment. By the time it turned toward him and fired though, he had already reached cover behind the crates. Next Teal'c threw him the staff weapon, and Jack set it on top of one of the crates without breaking cover. He peered around the corner and saw the turret scanning the room, rotating back and forth. When it turned away from him, he grabbed the staff weapon and fired at it, blowing it to pieces. Then he sat down on the floor and scrubbed his hand with his face.

"Ok, guys, fill your bags with as much as you can carry. Guns and ammo. When you're filled up, we'll get the hell out of here."

When everyone was loaded up, Jack again led the way, this time because he was carrying the least amount of loot. He was hobbling badly after being shot in the foot, so he didn't take as much as everyone else so as not to slow them down. The group headed up the stairs and out the back door. As they were approaching the side of the building, Jack heard footsteps and immediately raised his hand to halt the others. He pulled out his knife and waiting around the corner. When the guard stepped into view, Jack pulled him in, turned him around, and slit his throat wide open, spraying blood all over the wall of the complex. After peeking around the corner to make sure they had no more company, he ordered them to run for it and rendezvous behind the hill where they started the night. The pain in his foot was excruciating, radiating from the energy burn up the bottom of his leg, but he pushed on. Hell, it felt like he was alive again, so he would take the pain. Not long after that, the coast was clear and the group took their booty back to the tunnels.

...

SG-1 and SG-7 marched toward the weapons facility when Sam spotted a couple of Helvecon guards standing outside. She walked up to them to get a status report.

"What happened here?"

"They raided the building last night, but we responded quickly and surrounded them. We have tried to drive them out, but we have been unable to do so."

"I was told there are six rebels in the building. Is that right?"

"That is correct."

"We'll take care of it."

She walked away still puzzled about how this happened. She had never even seen the rebels take proper cover, let alone take a building. She ordered SG-7 to cover the rear entrance and she led her team to the front. She opened the door slightly to peek inside and a gunshot hit the door jamb right near her head and ricocheting away. From where the bullet hit, she could tell that it came from directly behind the door.

"Stand back. I'm throwing in a grenade," she ordered.

She pulled the pin on the grenade, cooked it for a second, then crack the door open enough to roll it in, avoiding more gun fire as she did so. A moment later, she heard the explosion, a horrific scream, and other voices yelling to fall back.

The team entered the building and swept the area. They didn't encounter any more rebels on the first floor, so they headed down the stairs to the main storage area. Sam knew there were five rebels down there. She only saw the one body from the grenade upstairs, and there was nowhere else they could have gone.

"We have you surrounded. If you surrender, you won't be harmed," she called out to them and got no reply.

She sighed, then turned to her team.

"Ok, I'll kneel down and give you guys covering fire. Get down there and take cover behind these crates on the left. When you get in position, you do the same for me."

"Yes, ma'am," Webster and Horton replied simultaneously.

Sam got down on one knee, held out her P-90, and began spraying bullets to the back and right of the large room, allowing the others to get down the stairs. When they were in cover, they also opened up, and Sam ran down the remaining stairs and jumped over the crates landing behind them. She looked up and saw Webster firing at the rebels when he took a shot to his collarbone area, staggering him back a bit and knocking him out from behind the crate. She watched in almost slow motion as another bullet crashed into the center of his chest, throwing him onto his back. She snapped out of it and began firing at the rebels when she heard Daniel cry out. She looked over at him and it looked like he was hit in the arm. A moment later, she only heard one gun shooting back at them, and she saw it was coming from the far corner of the room.

"Horton, go down to the end of the isle here and try to draw their fire."

"Yes, ma'am."

When the rebel moved over to begin firing at Horton, he just opened up enough of a gap in his cover for Sam to fire three bullets into his back. When he was down, she ran over to Daniel.

"Are you okay, Daniel?"

"I'm pretty sure I've had worse."

She smiled at him. "I'm sure you have."

Then she ran over to Webster and checked for his pulse, but she knew he was long since dead. As she pulled off his dog tags, a couple of tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Let's go home," she ordered them.


	7. Interlude

Squads 13 through 15 were grouped together again for drills and sparring today, and after they had finished, they were loitering around the subway station, chatting and rehydrating after another brutal day of work. Maya had just gulped down a cup of water and was standing around when she overheard a conversation around her.

"So, is it true about O'Neill?" one of the soldiers in her squad asked Romar.

"Is what true?" was Romar's reply.

"That he was like a maniac out there. Tomas said he nearly took off his head."

"Well, he did, but that's only because Tomas broke cover and O'Neill got shot saving him."

"He saved him? Why? He doesn't even like him."

"Said it's his job as the leader to protect us."

The other soldier gave Romar a surprised look.

"Other than that, he wasn't a maniac at all. Every step was deliberate but decisive. Every move was made with our asses covered as well as they could be. And at the same time, when he needed to act quickly, he was able to cut that guard's throat without hesitation, even while injured. I can see why Thor sent him here. We could learn a lot from him."

When their conversation broke up, Maya sat there contemplating this Jack O'Neill. With her history, she was especially wary of any man these days, but she couldn't keep him off of her mind. He was nothing like the men of this world. Even though she was to follow his orders, he didn't speak to her like a subordinate, or even like most Anterian men spoke to women. He spoke to her like she was a human being, equally as important as himself. He cared about the well being of his people, so much so that he was injured saving one of them from their own stupidity.

And yet, he was able to kill ruthlessly without a second thought. He didn't try to fit in or make friends. Didn't share anything of himself. She recognized the darkness lurking behind his eyes when they first met, because she also carried some of that darkness. She didn't know if it was her own morbid curiosity or if it was honest to goodness interest, but she was fascinated by the depth of him, the many layers that must make up the man. She stood watching him from across the station, seeing that he eschewed his crutches and limped over to sit on a concrete block. The white bandage on his shoulder was just visible under the collar of his tan shirt as he rubbed his hand through his unkept, gray hair. She was shaken from her thoughts by a deep, but gentle voice.

"Does something trouble you, Maya Rincon?" Teal'c asked her.

"Oh, sorry Teal'c. No, everything's fine."

Teal'c gave her a small bow of his head, but he could sense that she had something on her mind. He wasn't going to push her, though. He was never one to do that anyway. He simply stood there in silence.

"Teal'c, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you known Jack?"

"I do not mind. I have known O'Neill for nearly eight years."

"How did you meet?"

"He convinced me to abandon service of the false god I had served for decades, and as a result I assisted in the escape of O'Neill and his team from captivity."

Maya's green eyes grew wide and she paused before replying.

"Oh. Wow. That's..."

"Indeed."

"So what have you two been doing for the last eight years?"

Teal'c considered her for a moment and wondered if O'Neill wanted to hide his past from these people, but he dismissed that thought rather quickly. He wouldn't reveal anything personal, but Teal'c decided that if someone was interested in knowing him, and possibly befriending him, the despondent man could use it.

"We have traveled to many worlds, defeated many powerful enemies, and freed many from people from oppression, including thousands of my own people."

"So you must be really powerful like Thor then?"

"We do not possess the technological capabilities of the Asgard. We simply fight to ensure others can enjoy the same freedom that we have. And O'Neill is most resourceful, as well as stubborn."

"He _wills_ you to victory?"

"At times, it can appear so."

"Why is he so quiet, I mean, when he's not commanding us?"

"O'Neill's heart is greatly burdened. It is a subject that he does not discuss."

"I see."

"If you seek knowledge about O'Neill, perhaps you should speak to him."

"I know. He's just...a little intimidating. It doesn't look like he wants to talk to anyone."

"That is his usual disposition, but he will not turn you away."

"Okay, thank you, Teal'c."

He nodded to her and slowly walked away.

...

Sam sat on her couch staring at the wall with red rimmed eyes, lost in thought. She didn't know Major Webster that well, but he was a decent guy and a great soldier. She was upset about his death, but even more upset about what it meant for her command ability. For seven years, Colonel O'Neill managed to get everyone home, every time, except for when Daniel ascended for a while, but he came back, and that was his choice anyway. Sam had been in command of SG-1 for six months and already lost a teammate. She did what the Colonel warned against countless times, underestimated her opponent. She still had no idea how those rebels were so much more prepared than all of others they faced, but she hoped it was a fluke. If not, this war could become as grueling as any other.

She heard the key turn in the door and Danwig walked in and joined her on the couch. He obviously noticed that she had been crying.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"I'm just upset about Webster."

"I know, honey. But you did everything you could, and this happens. Sometimes teammates don't survive."

"We never lost a teammate for seven years under Colonel O'Neill."

"Colonel O'Neill was a buffoon."

She snapped a glare at him.

"Sorry. I mean that, while I'm sure his teammates appreciated him putting their health ahead of anything else, there must have been numerous objectives that he failed to reach by not putting the mission first."

"Not really. I can't think of any."

"Sam, even if they were small and seem insignificant now, they must have been there, it's not possible that they weren't. And that's why he's gone and you're there. A real soldier puts the mission first."

Sam was still trying to think of examples of botched objectives under the Colonel, and still couldn't come up with anything glaring. Danwig's support did little to lift her spirits. Was this who she was now? She put the mission, the Air Force, above everything? Even the lives of her teammates? She understood that teammates could die in combat, and they would still have to continue the mission. But should that ease her burden? That the mission was accomplished? Or could she have planned out a successful mission without leaving a teammate's life behind? Was it now okay to leave people behind because the Colonel was gone?

She didn't want to believe that, or dwell on it, and she sure as hell didn't want Danwig to confirm it for her, so she put on her happy mask and gave him a quick kiss.

"Thank you, Danwig."

"You are most welcome, Sam."

...

That Saturday, Sam and Daniel hopped in their rental car at the Minneapolis airport and drove off to check out Jack's cabin. He still wasn't returning calls, and both of them were concerned, though Daniel more so than Sam. When they pulled up, Jack's truck was still there. They checked the backyard, and everything was as it was a week prior, except the empty scotch bottle was now floating in the pond. The glass still sat on the wooden dock. Then they entered the cabin and started looking around. After not finding much of anything, Sam had an idea.

"Daniel, did you see any guns while you were here?"

"No, but I really didn't look for any. Why?"

"Well, I haven't seen any yet, and we know the Colonel would have had them here, his sidearm at the very least. If he was abducted, I doubt they would have let him take his gun or guns with him. If they aren't here, we can assume he went somewhere of his own free will."

"Okay, that makes some sense. Although I shudder to think what he would need them for. Let's look."

After searching the cabin from top to bottom, there was no sign of any firearms anywhere.

"Would someone have stolen them?"

"Did it look like the place was robbed the last time you were here? Because it doesn't now."

"No, it didn't. Okay, where would he go that he needs a gun?"

"Daniel, he would probably take his sidearm to the store to buy beer. I can imagine that he would want it anywhere he went."

Daniel sighed heavily.

"Well, I hope he's okay wherever he is. If we don't hear from him this week I'll go and pack his house and hire movers to take everything to a storage unit."

"I'll help you."

"Thanks, Sam. I guess we can head back. Or we can stay here tonight. I doubt Jack would mind."

"No, Daniel," she snapped at him a bit too forcefully.

"We've got rooms at the hotel at the airport. I would prefer to have electricity where I stay tonight."

"Alright, I'm ready."

They closed the cabin back up and drove away.


	8. Rescue

Over the past few weeks, Jack had taken a few of the twelve man squads out for raids, and tonight he was taking Tomas' team. This was a food raid at what looked like used to be a grocery store from the outside, so he hoped there wouldn't be too much security. He didn't really trust Tomas yet, but he needed to get his feet wet, so here they were. Jack and Teal'c would sit back on top of the building next door with three others providing backup while Tomas would take the other eight teammates into the building.

With this building being among several others, instead of isolated like the others raids, and the area around the front of the buildings illuminated by street lights, Jack wanted to keep the noise down as much as possible, so he ordered Tomas to take out the guard silently. After he did so, the group entered and were out Jack's sight. A few minutes later, there was a bright flash of light in the building just down the street and he saw a group of men run out from it and toward the store. Most of them were the typical, brown shirted guards, but one of them was wearing a white shirt. He briefly wondered who that might be and what the significance was, if any. Anyway, apparently the bastards were ready tonight. Jack fired his rifle and took out the white shirt while Teal'c blew away a guard with his staff weapon, but the others ran into the front door of the store.

Jack heard some gun fire and some energy weapon fire from the guards, and then saw five of his people climb out of a window and make a break for the rendezvous point. Jack took the others down to meet them.

"Tomas, where are the others?"

"They were captured."

"Anyone hurt?"

"Not that I know of. We should get out of here though."

Jack glared a hole right through him.

"We don't leave people behind, Tomas. How many guards were left in there?"

"Three, but they were calling for more."

"Okay, I'm going back in with Tomas and Redden here. The rest of you cover us from the top of that building if more help arrives. Teal'c, if you don't hear from me soon, you know what to do."

"Indeed."

"Sir?" Tomas asked him with fear in his voice.

"Did anyone see you go in the room you escaped from?"

"No, sir."

"We'll get in that way, then. Let's go."

After the three of them climbed back in the window, Jack put the silencer on his Beretta.

"Do you know where they were holding the prisoners?"

"In the middle of the store, sir."

"Okay, be absolutely quiet and follow me."

Jack led them out of the room and down the hallway to the back of the store. He came up to a double door with two small windows on it and peeked inside the room. He saw the three guards with their weapons out standing together facing the four soldiers who were on their knees with their hands tied behind their back. Checking out the room, he saw that there was another double door on the adjacent wall behind the guards. He crouched down and whispered his orders.

"Tomas, you and Redden go down to that next door around the corner. I need a distraction, so open it and yell at the guards, then run back out here."

"Yes, sir."

When Jack heard the "Hey you!" shouted in the room, he cracked open the swinging doors. Two of the guards began in that direction while one kept his eye on the prisoners. Jack fired a bullet right into the forehead of the guard nearest his people, then turned and pumped a few shots into the backs of each of the pursuing guards, watching them both fall onto their faces. He entered the room and saw Maya with a look of shock on her face; in fact all of them looked surprised to be rescued.

"Kids, let's work on not getting captured next time, shall we?"

He gave Maya a small smile and a wink to try to snap her out of it, but they all just continued to gape at him as he cut the ropes binding their hands together. While doing that, he heard gun fire outside.

"We gotta move. Where is your gear?"

"Right there, sir. They haven't had a chance to take it yet," Maya answered, the first to find her voice.

"Grab it and go the way I came in. Now!"

Everyone grabbed their bags and exited the double door in the back of the store while Jack stayed back to make sure they made it out. Suddenly, energy weapon fire began pelting the wall around him. He fired his rifle back at them a few times before falling back. This time, the seven of them just ran out the back door and directly to the rendezvous point in the trees, where Teal'c and the others were waiting.

"Everyone okay?" Jack asked them. When they all nodded affirmatively, he continued, "Good. Let's go home."

...

Sam was sitting in the infirmary next to Daniel's bed as he recovered from this latest mission. She came to the conclusion over the last month that some of the rebels on the Helvecon mining planet were much better trained and equipped than others. After the mission where they lost Webster, they had a few more encounters with the more inept freedom fighters before finally running into this latest disaster.

Their mission was to seal another underground entrance used by the rebels, but this was nothing like that similar mission so long ago now, her first as commander of SG-1. This time, the rebels were dug in. They had mines surrounding the entrance. They had snipers on high ground. The SG teams couldn't get close enough to do anything and would have to come back with some heavy ordnance to have any chance of getting that job done. SG-5 lost two men to mines, and one of those mines also sent some shrapnel into Daniel's hip on his first mission back since getting shot in the arm. It wasn't life threatening, thankfully, but still painful.

The strange thing was that Danwig said that the rebellion was dying down. The number of attacks was dwindling, and in some parts of the planet, there had been nothing but an occasional supply raid, so they were making a difference. It wouldn't make sense that as they encountered these better prepared fighters that their numbers would so noticeably decline, but she couldn't think of an explanation. She hoped that he was right about this being near the end.

She was getting exhausted with everything. This "little" rebellion has already dragged on longer than she thought it would. Her job was now just a job, not a source of excitement. She didn't get much lab time anymore with her duties as a team leader and the fact that she had a life outside of the mountain. Her teammates were fine, but they weren't close except for Daniel, and he hasn't been the same since the Colonel and Teal'c left. Not to mention he kept getting injured these days. She thought she would be happier than this, but she supposed that when this civil war was decided things would take a turn for the better.

...

It was late at night, long after everyone went to sleep, when Maya was in the corridors hidden in their old subway tunnel wandering, both her feet and her mind. When they were captured by the Aelva, she was sure they were dead. Many have been captured over the course of this war, and none ever came back. Then came Jack to rescue them. Why did he do it? He barely knew any of them.

Then she thought of how wielded his pistol so masterfully with pinpoint precision, not even breaking stride to take out the three guards in the room. It seemed that his capacity for caring was equaled by his capacity for inflicting pain, and and also perhaps his capacity for hiding it.

She also remembered the little smile and wink he threw her way when cutting the rope off of her wrists. It made him look years younger and had her stomach fluttering like she was a young girl with a crush. That surprised her. She thought she was done being interested in anyone romantically long ago. She decided to see if she could talk to him and thank him, if he was awake, and also find out if Teal'c was right about him not turning her away. She was a bit apprehensive though, and then cursed herself. She was never overly shy. In Anteria, women were not very outspoken, but she never had a problem just talking to guys. She wondered what it was about him that frightened her, and yet invigorated her.

She walked up to the door of his office and was surprised that it was still open. She looked inside and saw Jack with a glass in his hand and his head lying on his concrete desk, his wild hair pointing in every direction. She moved to leave, not wanting to disturb him, when his head snapped up and looked at her.

"Maya? Come in. What's up?"

"Sorry, sir, I didn't want to disturb you. It can wait."

He waved away her concern and then motioned to the stool opposite his desk.

"Don't worry. I should be thanking you. If I slept like that all night I probably wouldn't be able to walk tomorrow. Bad back you know. I'm an old man."

She smiled and shook her head.

"You didn't seem to be that old earlier tonight."

"Yes, well, anyway, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to thank you for rescuing us. I never expected it. Many of us have been captured before, and none have ever been seen again. I was sure..."

"Don't thank me, Maya. I don't leave people behind. Just how I do things."

She saw the friendliness in his eyes disappear behind closed shutters for a moment before returning. She gulped and decided to push a little.

"Sounds like there's a story there, sir."

Then she saw the shutters slam shut.

"Well, let's just say I've been left behind a time or two. I won't do that to anyone if I can help it."

She nodded and watched him to see if he was going to continue, but it was clear from his expression that he wasn't. A little disappointed, though not surprised, she made to stand up.

"It's okay, sir. We don't have to talk about it. I just wanted to thank you. I should really get some sleep."

"That's all? Well, while you're here, how are things going with the team?"

This time she closed her shutters, which was not unnoticed by Jack.

"Fine, sir..."

"Maya, I can't let you get away with that for much longer. I do need to know how the teams operate around here."

Now his eyes were boring through her, trying to find the answers he sought.

"Sir, it's nothing I can't handle."

"Is it Tomas?"

"No, he's been fine since you spoke to him. Thank you for that, by the way."

"So someone else then."

"Jack, sir, it's really not a big deal. Most of the guys don't want me here anyway, and the last thing I need is for them to think I need you protecting me. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I'm well aware. But whether or not I'm protecting you, disharmony in a unit leads to problems in the field. I'll let you take care of it, but if it becomes a problem, then I will handle it myself."

"I know. Thank you."

Now, she saw sympathy in his eyes. She was amazed at how well she could understand him without him saying anything, and he seemed to understand her the same way. It was like they had two different conversations going at once. She decided to ask him something.

"Sir, I understand if you can't, or don't want to, but I was wondering if you would spar with me."

"Tonight?" he asked incredulously with eyebrows high.

She giggled and replied, "No, not tonight. Whenever is good for you. I would just like to continue improving at it, and I know that you know a lot more than you've showed us."

"Isn't Tomas training you?"

"He is, but I know more than he does."

He had to agree there.

"Okay, sure. I'm always here after hours. Stop by anytime."

"Thank you, Jack, sir. Have a good night."

"You too. And Maya?"

"Yes?"

"No one here really has to call me 'sir'. I only did that to try to instill some military discipline in this place. When we're here in private, Jack will be just fine."

She ducked her head slightly and gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Jack. Good night."


	9. Moving Forward

Jack, Teal'c, Romar, and Tomas' squad were all gathered in Jack's office to discuss that night's mission. Jack has been impressed with the growth of his people over the past four months, no longer needing to worry if they can handle themselves in the field. They had an abundance of weapons now, including grenades, mines, pistols, and small submachine guns that Jack called a 'Tommy gun' because of it's resemblance to the real thing back on Earth. They even had new recruits showing up, including a number of women after word had spread that women were welcome in the resistance. They had lost several people over the past four months, but they were otherwise ready for the next step. Now, Jack needed a plan.

"Alright, tonight I want to get into the building right by the grocery store we hit a couple months ago. There was a flash of light in there before the extra guards came running out. I am certain that they were transported there. I need to find out how to work it and where it goes."

"How do you propose we do that, sir?" Romar asked him.

"Well, we'll have to get in there and nose around."

"That building has turrets inside and out, sir," Tomas spoke up.

"Then we might have to take them out. Teal'c, you have a zat with you here, right?"

"I do, O'Neill."

"I want to see if we can capture one of the guards and get some intel out of him. Now that I feel better our operation here, I want to start moving forward. I need more information so we can come up with a way for us to get rid of these guys."

All of the Anterians looked at Jack in surprise.

"I want Romar and Maya with me tonight to get in the building. Everyone else, you will lay back and cover our exit."

"Yes, sir," they answered in unison.

"I just thought of something. That's a pretty big building. Do you think it would have direct access to the sewer system?"

"It's possible, sir, but I don't know," Tomas answered.

"How can we find out?"

"The town hall should still have the plans somewhere, unless the enemy took them or destroyed them," Maya added.

"Okay, how do we get in there?"

"Well, sir, the town hall does have direct access to the sewers," Romar informed him.

"Excellent. What about defenses?"

"I doubt it's heavily guarded. There isn't anything there anymore," Tomas replied.

"I hope you're right. Teal'c and I will go do that now. We'll brief when we get back. Dismissed."

...

Sam walked into Daniel's office and saw him immersed in a book, so she softly knocked on the door jamb a couple of times. He looked up and greeted her.

"Hi, Sam. How are you?"

"Great, Daniel. You?"

"I'm fine. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to get some lunch."

"Okay, sure. Just give me..." Daniel was interrupted by his phone ringing. He held up a finger to Sam and picked it up.

"Daniel Jackson," he answered.

"Yes, General. I'll be right up," Daniel replied before hanging up.

"Everything okay?" she asked him.

"I don't know. General Hammond just wanted to give me an update about Jack."

"You still haven't heard from him?" she asked incredulously. Being incommunicado for a month while being retired was one thing, but now it had been over four months since anyone had heard from the Colonel. She was starting to share Daniel's concern.

"No, Sam, I haven't. You didn't know? Well, I guess not. You would have had to actually try to talk to him since he retired."

Sam grimaced at his barb, but ignored it, not wanting to fight with Daniel right now.

"I'll join you to see the General."

Moments later, they both walked up to the door to Hammond's office, which was already open.

"Come in and have a seat."

They did as ordered, and Hammond continued.

"I don't think you need to look so worried, the news I have isn't bad. I still have no idea where Colonel O'Neill is, but I do know that he was not taken by the NID, legitimate or otherwise."

"So he could still be anywhere," Daniel posed.

"He could, Dr. Jackson, but chances are that wherever he went, it was of his own accord. That doesn't mean he didn't find himself some trouble, but he's long been able to take care of himself. I wouldn't worry about it too much. There's nothing else we can do at this point anyway."

"Understood, sir," Sam replied.

They left Hammond's office and headed to the commissary where they each grabbed a cup of coffee and Sam a bowl of blue jello. When they sat down at their table, Daniel broke the silence.

"Sam, I have a terrible feeling about this. What can we do?"

"I'm worried too, but I don't know. I don't think there's anything we can do. I would try to get in touch with Maybourne if he was still on this planet, but since he's not, I'm at a loss."

"And we can't even take any leave right now because of this damn war we are fighting for someone else."

"I know, Daniel. I wish it was over too. But they're allies. This is what allies do."

Daniel just grunted and gulped down the rest of his coffee, ending that conversation.

...

The trip to the town hall ended up being uneventful, thankfully, and better yet, the building did indeed have direct access to the sewers. Not more than two hours after they left, everyone reconvened where O'Neill had gone over the plans and briefed them on their mission. While in the town hall, Jack also grabbed the plans for the building they were infiltrating. It used to be a sort of convention center, many offices and meeting rooms surrounding a large, open room. He knew the layout and also knew that the entrance to the sewers was located in a maintenance room that shouldn't be of any interest to anyone, so he hoped it would be safe enough.

When the time came, Jack's three person team climbed the ladder, removed the lid, and entered the maintenance room, then immediately climbed into the ventilation ducts. He wanted to find out where this transporter was and see if he spot the turrets too. He managed to find one turret in the big room, but he guessed there were more than that. The three of them crawled through the ducts to the other end of the massive space when Jack saw the transporter. He got a bit closer and waited for someone to use it. After about five minutes of waiting, a familiar, brown shirted guard walked up the device, just a simple square platform on the floor with a panel with nine buttons on the wall next to it. The guard pushed five of them and disappeared. Jack saw which five buttons he pushed, so now it was time for part two of the mission.

On their way back to the maintenance room, Jack saw a small room with a refrigerator, a break room of some sort. Inside was a guard eating his lunch. He couldn't see the whole room to know if there were any more in there, but that would be their best bet. They all got back to the maintenance room and hopped out of the wall.

"Okay, I want to capture one of these guys, but I want to stay away from the main hall. Hopefully we won't run into any turrets back in this part of the building. Follow me."

They left the maintenance room and headed toward the break room, seeing no one in the hallway on their way. When they reached the room, Jack cracked the door open and still only saw the one guard, so he reached in and fired the zat, subduing him. They entered the room to claim their prisoner when a guard they hadn't seen stood from a couch in the corner of the room. He fired his energy weapon at them and hit Maya in the thigh, sending her to the ground. Jack made quick work of him and then disintegrated the body with a third zat shot.

"Maya, you okay?"

"Yes, sir. Just hurts," she replied through clenched teeth.

"I know. Let me dress it," he told her in a soothing voice while being grateful that these people weren't far behind Earth as far as medicine goes.

He ripped open her pants leg and her whole body went stiff as a board as he began to apply the antibiotic powder to the cauterized wound. He noticed her hyperventilating in panic with terror on her face.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts. After this we'll get you back to the Doc. You'll be kicking my ass again in no time."

He smiled at her and she immediately calmed down. She chuckled and smiled back, a full blown smile that reached her eyes. He didn't see too many of those on her, and he decided he wanted to try to see it more often.

"Can you walk?" he asked her after he finished wrapping up her leg.

"I'll try, sir."

She got to her feet but was hobbling badly.

"Alright, Maya. You'll hold us up. I'll carry you. Romar, drag the guard with us to the sewer. Teal'c is waiting down there and he'll take him the rest of the way."

Jack grabbed Maya and carried her down the hallway to the maintenance room. He set her down and opened the lid again.

"You want to try to climb down? I'm going to have to help with the prisoner."

"I'll make it."

After they all made it down the ladder and Jack closed the lid behind them, Teal'c carried the prisoner while Jack carried Maya as they made their way back to base.

...

Jack entered the holding room with the Aelvan prisoner seated on a chair with his hands tied behind his back.

"You ready to talk now?"

The prisoner was silent.

"You do realize that there is no one to protect you from me here, right?" Jack's icy tone reverberated through the otherwise empty room. He noticed a flicker of fear in the guard's eyes.

"I only have a few questions, and if you answer them truthfully, I won't kill you. But if you don't..."

The prisoner shifted uncomfortably under Jack's hate-filled eyes burning into him. Jack then pulled out his knife.

"Don't make me do it. I can't tell you how badly I want to. All I have to do is think of my people that didn't come home and I would be happy for you to suffer for each of them."

"What is it that you want to know?"

"Where does the transporter go?"

"I don't know."

"Lying to me already?"

Now Jack held the knife to the guards throat.

"Don't think it would be quick and painless. I promise you that it won't be."

"It goes to other locations where a transporter is present," the guard choked out.

"Like where?"

"There are no more on this planet."

"So where does it go, then?"

"Do you know how many times I've been tortured? Beaten, whipped, stabbed, sliced, burned, seared, shocked, stretched, violated. I've had it all done to me, more times than I can count, so I know exactly how to do it to you. Exactly how to make the pain so unbearable that you long for the relief of unconsciousness, but I won't give it to you. And I'll keep going until you beg. And you will beg me. You will fucking beg me to end it. On your knees, crying like a baby, pleading with me to end your miserable life."

Jack's voice was rough and maniacal, and the guard was shaking now. He looked into the now black eyes of his interrogator.

"It goes to our ship," he squeaked.

"Where on the ship? Are there people around?"

When the guard paused, Jack simply moved directly into his face, noses touching, and smiled the most evil smile he could while his eyes shone with nothing but death in them.

"The room is usually empty unless others are preparing to travel."

Jack assessed that he was being truthful. He put his knife away and left the room, slamming the door behind him.


	10. Getting To Know You

One evening a couple of weeks after getting shot, Maya was walking down the corridor towards Jack's office, her mind racing as it often was these days. Since the injury, Jack had visited her in the treatment room a couple of times, and she often ran into him throughout the day, but she hadn't been well enough to resume their evening sparring sessions, and while she had missed them, she wondered if she shouldn't back off. However, when she ran into him today, she couldn't stop herself from telling him that she was ready again and would stop by his office tonight.

When it came to men, she was a mess, had been for as long as she could remember, and the many sides of Jack were almost overwhelming to her. After their sessions, they would talk for a little while. Not about anything important, it showed her a bit more of the man. He told her about a sport called hockey that he loved, and she could see that. She told him about The Simpsons, a cartoon that he liked. They had cartoons on Anteria too, and they were children's programming. At first, she found it hard to believe a man like him would be drawn to a children's show, but then she thought it about and could imagine that. He could be a bastard, he could be a brilliant tactician, he could be the sweetest guy in the world, and he could be a big kid. But her fascination with him did little to assuage her fears.

When she got shot, she was immediately terrified when he ripped open her pants to dress her wound. Expecting to see something more sinister in his eyes, she looked up and saw concern. The tenderness with which he tended to her injury while she was panicking on the floor amazed her. Then he made the crack about her kicking his ass again in no time, and the feelings of relief and something powerful that she didn't even recognize swept over her. She would have grabbed his head and kissed him right there if they weren't in immediate danger.

And then later that same night, she went for a short walk on her crutches and overheard him in the prisoner's room. When she heard Jack the interrogator, it sent a shiver down her spine, and not the good kind. She was finding that he could be the most caring, wonderful man and at the same time, the most cold blooded, heartless man she had ever met. She wanted to know why it didn't send her running. No matter how much she trained, if a ruthless killer like Jack turned his ire toward her, she would be helpless to stop him from hurting her however he wanted. But she never saw even one indication that he would do that. She had seen him aggravated with her, disappointed in her evasion of his questions, but never once did she feel that he would hurt her.

And then her mind wandered to the revelations of that interrogation. He said he had been tortured, too many times to count. He had been beaten, stabbed, burned, shocked, violated. She didn't think he was lying either. The emotion behind those words in that holding room couldn't be faked. Was this part of the burden on his heart that Teal'c mentioned? If it was true, he could possibly relate to some of what she has gone through in life, and not even considering her romantic feelings, she wanted to find out if he was someone that she could confide in. Before she joined the resistance, she had friends on the streets that had gone through what she had, but they had never overcome it and were just as powerless to stop it the next time as they were to change how they were living to lead a productive life. Whatever Jack had gone through, he was obviously able to get past it to become a hero to people over many worlds, including this one.

She was only a few minutes away from his office now when she heard a voice.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Then she was grabbed and pulled into the adjacent tunnel with a hand held over her mouth.

...

Jack looked at his watch again and figured if she wasn't here by now, that she probably wasn't coming tonight. Maya was supposed to be there for their sparring match a half hour ago, but it certainly wasn't an order that she come, so maybe she found something better to do. Jack found that he was enjoying their sessions a great deal. She was a gorgeous woman and a real sweetheart. After their fights they would chat for a while about mostly inconsequential things, and it was nice to have someone to do that with, especially after nearly nine months of not talking to anyone but Teal'c. He knew she had some serious issues, but he also knew better than to push it with her. If she wanted to talk, he would be there, but he knew that he never wanted to talk about his issues, so he wasn't going to force her to do it.

He decided to walk around outside of his office to kill some time, and when he was a short way down the corridor, he heard a person squeak down one of the tunnels. He crept inside and tried to hear what was going on.

"That hurt, you bitch. I guess you like it rough."

"I hope you know that if you touch me, I _will_ kill you, Redden," Maya replied with a steely calm that Jack wondered if she didn't learn from him. Almost hoped she did.

"I've told you for months that were mine, and now you think you are going to run off with someone else? I don't think so. And what are you going to do? Elias is holding you down. I can do whatever I want to you."

After a moment, she growled at him.

"Get your hands off of me."

"What, is O'Neill the only one who can have a piece of that? Not anymore, honey."

Jack had heard enough and silently turned the corner. He pulled Redden off of her and punched him in the side of his face, breaking his cheek and knocking him unconscious. This allowed Maya to flip Elias who was holding her arms behind her. Then she got down on a knee behind him and choked him out.

"Maya, you okay?" he asked her even though he knew she wasn't.

She just nodded but didn't even look up at him.

"Come on, let's go to my office."

He offered her his hand and he helped her up. He walked to her to his office and told her to sit down and that he would be back in a few minutes. Then he ran down the hall to get Teal'c.

"T, can you come with me. I need help taking two guys to the brig."

"As you wish, O'Neill."

Teal'c carried Elias while Jack slapped Redden's face to rouse him from his slumber and pointed his Beretta at him.

"Get up and keep your mouth shut."

They took them to a couple of rooms as far away from the rest of the base as possible and locked them up for the night.

"What is it that transpired, O'Neill?"

"They attacked Maya and were going to rape her."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and looked furious.

"I know, T. But for now I need to see if she's okay. We'll deal with them later."

When Jack walked back into his office, he wasn't surprised to find that Maya wasn't there. He was, however, surprised to find her in his quarters, seated on the edge of his bed with her face in her hands, crying her eyes out. After what just happened, he wasn't about to join her on the bed, or even touch her, so he pulled up a stool and sat down in front of her. He didn't say a word. He just watched her until she was ready to talk. After a few minutes, she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? For what?"

"I shouldn't have come into your quarters like this. I should have taken care of Redden before tonight. I just...I'm sorry."

"Maya, enough of that. I don't mind you being in here. It's better that than me having to look for you out there. And don't apologize about what they did. It's not your fault."

"You kept asking me about it, and I kept telling you that I would handle it."

"Well, you did handle Elias pretty well. You did the best you could. I understand why you needed to do it yourself; I really do. You needed to try to maintain as much respect from the men as you could. I'm not angry with you about it."

She looked at him and gave him a sad smile. He reach out his hand and set it on her shoulder. When she didn't flinch or pull away, he kept it there and gave her a small squeeze.

"And I know I'm not the poster child for emotional openness, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here, okay?"

She nodded with her bright green eyes tearing up again.

"This isn't the first time this happened," she whispered hesitantly.

"I didn't think it was. Did anyone stop it the last time?"

She looked sharply at him, apparently surprised by his insight. Then she slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Maya."

"How did you know?"

"When you were injured on that last mission, when I was dressing your wound, I could tell."

When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"How long ago?"

After a moment, she answered in a low, watery voice.

"Three years ago."

"It wasn't Redden then too, was it?"

This time she quickly shook her head in the negative.

"No, Jack. I don't know who it was back then."

"Is that why you learned how to fight?"

She again looked surprised, and then somewhat speculative at his question.

"It's the reason why I continue to learn how to fight."

He just nodded silently. He knew now that there was more to the story, but he wasn't going to drag it out of her. He was shocked she told him this much.

"Can I ask you something, Jack?"

"Sure."

"I overheard you when you were interrogating the Aelvan prisoner the night of that mission."

He immediately shuttered his eyes, but then noticed the hurt in hers when he did it. He breathed out a heavy sigh. He certainly didn't want to pile on to her pain tonight, so he guessed he had to talk. Then he lowered his guard.

"Okay, what about it?"

"You told him that you were tortured, burned, all kinds of awful things. And violated. Were you just using that in the interrogation, or did it really happen?"

The pure, unadulterated misery in his eyes must have been evident, because she let out a small gasp.

"It was true. All of it."

"Can you tell me about it?"

He couldn't even believe he was considering it, but if he wanted to help her, it would probably be good if she knew that he could relate. She looked hopeful and interested. It was better than the haunted pain he saw on her face the rest of the night, so he went on ahead.

"It was on my planet, Earth. I was in the military, and we were fighting a war against another country there called Iraq. We were caught in the middle of a firefight, and the rest of my unit escaped, but they left me there. I was captured and that's where some of the torture I mentioned happened. Then many times when they were done torturing me, they would hold me down on a table and some of the guards would..."

He had to stop because he could feel the bile rising in his throat, but he could tell that she got the gist of it. Tears ran down her cheeks and she stood up from the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry for bringing that back up for you."

"It's okay," he choked a whisper in her ear.

He stood and led her back to bed. He sat next to her and put an arm around her, and she leaned into him. They just sat there in silence for several minutes.

"You're going to be okay. It gets better. It doesn't go away, but it gets easier to live with."

"I know. I'll be fine," she mumbled into his chest. Then she looked up at him.

"Jack, thank you for tonight."

"Anytime," he answered and gave her a small, reassuring smile.


	11. Closer

"Now hold on tight and torque your hips to flip us over."

Maya did as instructed and flipped them before pinning his hands over his head, leaning over him in order to be able to reach above his much longer frame. Her chest ever so slightly brushed against his with every deep inhale, and their faces were only inches apart, her breath tickling his cheek. As careful as he'd been to not give away what he was feeling, she could tell the effect she was having on him now, which only made her fire burn hotter. Apparently, he noticed the mood and spoke again to try to break up the tension.

"And you can do the same kind of motion from the other way too, if you are being held on the ground from behind you can hold them down and flip yourself."

"I understand. I guess that if I was on the bottom, I could prevent that by wrapping my legs around them."

The image that flashed through her mind made her blush a little, and she supposed that she should have gotten up instead of whispering that directly in his face. This was in danger of getting out of hand, and she hoped that she was being more successful hiding her thoughts from him than he was from her.

He gulped before replying. "That would do it."

As unique as he was, Jack was still quite obviously a man, and while Maya didn't think herself anything extraordinary, she knew that she was in good shape and wasn't bad to look at, so she wasn't all that surprised that he was enjoying this sparring, well, wrestling match. But it was driving her crazy.

She wondered for a brief moment why his obvious reaction didn't scare her, but she brushed it off. Maybe it was the times he risked his life for her. Maybe it was the fact that he's had every opportunity to do something before now, knowing that no one here would stop him. Maybe it was the person she was finding and getting to know underneath the mask that he hid behind, but she was done questioning it anymore. Somehow, she knew that he wouldn't hurt her.

That still didn't mean she was ready for more though, so she figured it was a good time to call it a night before she started ripping his clothes off.

"I think that's good enough for tonight," she told him and helped him up off of the floor.

"Fine with me. You're wearing me out as it is."

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," she shot back and immediately closed her mouth, unable to believe what she just said. She bit back a giggle when she saw his stunned look before he schooled his expression again.

"Well, it was fun as always. I'm gonna shower and hit the hay. Good night, Maya."

"You too, Jack."

After he turned his back and began walking away, she could have sworn she heard him mutter something about a cold shower, and she covered her mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter. He didn't need to know that she heard him. He also didn't need to know that she was headed right for a cold shower too.

...

Daniel was at his apartment sitting on his couch and reading, but his mind continued to stray from the words on the page. The fact that he was at home at all, and not in his office, showed how disillusioned he had become with his job anymore. Why was he still there? He figured it was because Sam was the only "family" he had left anymore, and he didn't want to lose her too. But it's not like they were as close as they used to be, though that was probably at least as much his own fault as hers. He knew he was miserable to be around these days, and she had a man at home that she would surely rather spend her time with. Still, if he left, he had no one at all.

At what point was it not worth it anymore? He didn't know if he could bite his tongue again if they were given another mission to the rebel mining planet. There had been several occasions since this alliance began where he was so close to handing in his resignation. What would be the last straw? For now, he shook it off, deciding not to upset the apple cart for the time being. He sighed and dove back into his book.

...

Danwig was lying in bed next to a sleeping Sam while contemplating his next move. The rebellion seemed to be near its end, so it would be nice to see the boost in output from the mines on that planet, but he knew that Earth was the big prize. Tomorrow he would leave to go back to China for negotiations with their government, but the distrust all of these nations on Earth have for one another tends to slow down progress with these things.

He looked over at Sam and smiled. She was a beautiful woman, and smart as a whip about most things, but he was most impressed with her loyalty. He'd learned that was one of her stronger character traits. Her loyalty to her team. Her loyalty to her friends. Even her need to stick up for that moron O'Neill on occasion. But most of all, her loyalty to the Air Force and her career. That came first to her, which has worked out swimmingly for him so far, but that might not always be the case. He knew that having her unquestioning loyalty would be very useful to have in the future, and he only knew of one way he could get it. He would have to look into how they do marriages on this world.

Sam started to stir and spoke in a hoarse, sleepy voice.

"Why are you up?"

"Nothing, honey, go back to sleep."

"Something wrong?"

"No, I'm just not looking forward to dealing with the Chinese again."

"You'll be great. You always are."

"I know. That doesn't mean I want to have to do it."

She rolled onto her side and began softly scraping her fingernails along his chest.

"Why don't I take your mind off of it for a while?"


	12. Plans

Jack sat at his desk with a glass of the local brandy, the taste having grown on him over the last six months, and he was finalizing his plan for the liberation of Anteria. By this time, the other four resistance groups that have been working in tandem with Jack's group have grown much stronger, in both supplies and numbers. Based on the success of their raids, Jack figured that they were more than strong enough to defeat whatever forces the Aelva have on the ground, provided he could stop them being reinforced from the ship. So taking the ship was the plan. Piece of cake. God, he missed cake. They had similar desserts here, but it just wasn't the same.

He shook off his nonsensical meanderings and got back to the task at hand. He needed explosives. Big, honkin' explosives. The only thing they had on this planet that would suffice was dynamite, or their equivalent of it. All of these mines had to be cleared somehow, so he knew there must be a manufacturer somewhere. Once he got his hands on enough of it, they would send some up to the ship to blow away a little beachhead for them. He planned to meet with the other groups one more time, along with some of his best soldiers, to train them up a bit more and give them the plan. Once the ship was either taken or destroyed, they would move out and retake the buildings on the surface.

After checking with the guys, he found that one of Romar's men used to work in the explosives plant, so he could tell them exactly how to get in and where to go. As a result, Jack sent Romar's team to bring back as much of the damn stuff as they could carry. When they returned with enough to blow up the whole ship three times over, he smiled, finally pleased that things seemed to be falling into place.

...

Sam strode down the hallway toward Daniel's office feeling a bit lighter than she had been lately, and she had a couple of pieces of news for Daniel that would hopefully cheer him up too. She almost felt like she could take a deep breath now. The rebellion on the Helvecon mining planet seemed to be at it's end. There hadn't been any major skirmishes for weeks, and even the number of raids had dropped off. She reached Daniel's doorway and knocked.

"Hi, Sam, come in."

"What's new, Daniel?"

"Not much, you?"

"Well, I have a couple of things to tell you. First, since the rebellion is dying down, the General is planning to start up our old missions again. He talked about a standard recon mission as early as next week."

"That's good, it will be a lot better we've been doing for the last year or so," Daniel replied without much enthusiasm.

"Daniel? I thought you'd be happy about it."

"I am, Sam. It's great. I just...I don't know. I'm sure I'll be more excited about it next week. What else was there? You said you had a couple of things?"

"Oh, yeah, right." She held up her left hand so that Daniel could see the ring sparkle in the light.

"Congratulations, Sam. He must have looked into Earth marriage customs, huh?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. I figured with the rebellion almost crushed and us getting back to our regular work, it was a good time to look ahead."

"I suppose."

She was getting worried about Daniel now. He was always full of exuberance, but she understood that all of these military missions would have tried his patience, and also that he missed Teal'c and the Colonel. But she would have thought getting off world to explore again would perk him up at least a little bit.

"Did you decide when the big day is going to be?"

"Not yet, Daniel. He just asked a few days ago. It will still be a little while yet. Do you think the General will let us send a message to Teal'c on Chulak so that I can invite him to the wedding?"

"I don't know, you can always ask him."

"And we still don't know where the Colonel is. I wonder if we can take some leave to look for him now that things are slowing down."

She was taken aback by the bitter snort that escaped Daniel's mouth.

"Yeah, I'm sure Jack would love the irony of you finally looking for him so that you can invite him to watch you marry another man."

"What!?"

Daniel finally sobered. "Right, sorry, Sam. Anyway, I don't know what else we can do. I've been to the cabin a few times since we were there, and nothing's changed. I even went through his papers in the storage unit and called some people he knew back in his black ops days, but no one had heard from him. I really don't think he'll be too broken up about not getting the invite, Sam, so I wouldn't worry about it."

"If you say so, Daniel. Well, I'll see you later."

"Take care, and congratulations again."

"Thank you."

With that she slowly walked out of his office.

...

Maya was walking back to her quarters with a big smile on her face after another sparring session with Jack. She could no longer deny to herself that she was head over heels in love with him, but that didn't stop her from being cautious, so cautious that it was pathetic. Battling her fears and her history has made it take longer than it should have, but she wanted to be absolutely certain about him before she made a move. And she would make the move. Women on Anteria rarely ever made the first move, but Jack wasn't from here and probably didn't plan on staying. If he would have her, she would go back to Earth with him or wherever he wanted to go. It's not like she was leaving anything behind here anyway. As she turned the corner and went down the next hallway, she spotted Teal'c walking towards her. Jack didn't say anything to anyone, but she had a feeling he had Teal'c out patrolling for problems like she had with Redden a while back, especially now that there were more women in the resistance.

"Hi, Teal'c. How are you?"

"I am well, Maya Rincon. And yourself?"

"I'm great actually," she replied grinning at him.

"I trust your training session with O'Neill went well."

She blushed slightly and ducked her head for a moment before responding.

"Yes, it went well."

When Teal'c just stood there silently, she continued.

"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"You wish to discuss your burgeoning relationship with O'Neill."

She smirked at him.

"Do you always do that? Read minds?"

"I am well over 100 years of age. I have experienced much."

"Really?" She look surprised and paused for a moment before continuing. "You look good."

Teal'c bowed his head slightly.

"I was wondering about...um...Jack told me about his experience in Iraq."

Teal'c raised his eyebrows as high as they would go.

"Ha! You didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"I am pleased that O'Neill could share this with you. I do not know of another individual with whom he has discussed the matter."

"Not even you?"

"Indeed."

She was stunned by that. Maybe that conversation meant even more than she thought it did.

"Wow. Well anyway, a while ago you told me that his heart is burdened. I wondered if that was why."

"That is but one of many wounds on the soul of O'Neill. Some not as painful. Others much more so."

"Do you know what happened?"

"Based on stories I have been told and O'Neill's own behavior, I can deduce what occurred."

"Some are much more painful than that?" she asked incredulously.

"Indeed."

Her heart hurt for the man. What the hell else had he gone through?

"I don't suppose you can tell me anything."

"I can not."

"I understand. I guess I'll have to drag it out of him. Thank you, Teal'c. Good night."

"And you as well, Maya Rincon."


	13. Convergence

Jack was gearing up with the rest of his contingent to go and visit the last of the other rebel headquarters to coordinate the events for the final battle. He was bringing Teal'c, Joshen, Maya, Romar, and Tomas along with him to give the others guys some extra training. He smiled inwardly thinking about the little exchange when he informed Maya that she was going.

"I'm going to train them in hand to hand? I'm a woman; they'll never listen to me."

"They'll listen to you after they get tired of you kicking their asses."

"Oh? Just like you do?" she shot back with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face

"When did you become such a smart ass?"

"I've had good training...sir," she smiled with her green eyes sparkling at him.

God, she had beautiful eyes. Eyes had never been a huge attraction to him until he met Carter. Sure, he noticed them before, but he noticed other things first. He supposed that the lifetime he spent reading people's eyes since he was younger probably changed him a bit. Sam had those incredible blue eyes, and he was lost right away. Maya's eyes were so bright, they shined like jewels, and sometimes he had a hard time pulling himself away from them. When this was all done and he was back on Earth, he would miss her terribly. But he couldn't stay here, and didn't want to, so there was no point in dwelling on it.

That morning, the team departed. This last group of rebels was the farthest away, but as long they didn't run into trouble, they should be able to get there before dark. A few extensive tunnel systems and connected caverns would take them most of the trip under cover, but there were a couple of places where they would be exposed on the surface, so Jack didn't like going during the day, but they didn't really have a choice. If they walked around with flashlights at night, they would be just as visible as if they went during the day anyway.

After a few hours of traveling, they were in a small patch of trees heading for a large tree with the inside hollowed out that had a tunnel dug under it. Suddenly, Jack heard something and got down on one knee, the others following. He looked to his right and saw four Aelvan guards searching the area. He had the others take cover behind trees and they quickly dispatched the enemy.

"Let's move. We weren't too quiet about that."

They ran for the secret tree and descended beneath the ground once again. Later, they emerged out of a cave onto a ledge along a steep cliff facing the ocean. It was a lovely view, but they had to get moving. While on the ledge, they were pretty safe from detection, but soon, when it ran out, they would have to climb to higher ground. When they got up top, he stepped to the edge of the rock formation and peeked around the corner. He saw a couple of guards milling around and hoped that it was just a coincidence that they were seeing so many guards today, and not because their radio messages were decoded and their objective made. There was a shallow trench running across the approximately one hundred feet of open space between Jack's team and the large group of boulders that concealed their next tunnel entrance. If they crawled along the ground in that trench, they should be able to avoid detection unless the guards looked closely for them.

"Get down on your bellies. Go. I'll take your six."

They were just about across the opening, in fact four of the others were already in cover on the other side, when energy weapons began peppering the ground around Jack.

"Keep going," he barked to Joshen in front of him.

When they crossed, Jack took cover and pulled out his Tommy gun. Three guards ran toward his position and he opened up, pouring bullets into their chests. When the bodies dropped to the ground, he gave the order and the team ran for the entrance that would take them the rest of the way to their objective. He was relieved that they wouldn't have to be on the surface anymore but was worried about the trip home.

...

"SG-1 and SG-7 to the briefing room!" Walter called out over the base intercom. Moments later, SG-7 was already seated when Colonel Carter, Daniel, Captain Horton and Major Reggie Timmons entered the room. Sam sat there wondering what this was about. SG-1 was scheduled for a standard recon mission to P3X-791 for this afternoon, and she was looking forward to getting back to exploration and working with new technology. Her musing was interrupted by General Hammond and Danwig entering the room. Everyone rose to their feet.

"At ease. I know you both had other missions for today, but our allies have requested assistance. Apparently there is a small group of rebels traveling today for some sort of meeting. Danwig will explain."

"Yes, we've intercepted a radio message that suggests it is some sort of meeting of rebel leadership. We couldn't get any more than that from the message, but needless to say, with their situation as it is, taking out their leadership would probably end this rebellion for good. We have already attempted to engage the group without success. Hopefully this will be the last time we need to ask for your assistance with this problem," Danwig informed them.

"How many rebels are in the group, sirs?" Sam asked them.

"Eyewitness accounts say there are six in the group," Danwig answered her.

"Gear up and be ready to embark in half an hour," Hammond ordered them.

"And I will be joining you. I have some business there to attend to anyway," Danwig added.

"Okay teams, dismissed."

Sam smiled at Danwig and left the briefing room wondering why he was coming with them. She was hopeful that they could end this rebellion once and for all today though. She'd had just about enough of it.

When the they stepped through the Stargate, Danwig addressed them.

"Come this way. We have finished a new transporter near the gate, so it will be much quicker getting to the others."

They entered that old prison building that Colonel O'Neill wanted so desperately to get inside a year prior, she remembered before swiftly shoving it away to focus on the task at hand. They stepped onto the transporter and appeared in a large, wide open building. When they exited the building, Danwig stopped them again.

"This is where I take my leave. I will join you again as soon as I am able. Good luck, Sam."

He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss and walked back into the building. From there, she took point and led the men to the coordinates where the other Helvecon guards were waiting. She walked up to them and find out what was going on and noticed three bodies riddled with bullet holes.

"What's the status?"

"They were last seen here. We're guessing that their bunker is somewhere close by, but they will eventually have to come back this way anyway."

"Right, so we sit and wait. Thank you."

Sam turned to inform her team and SG-7, and then they got settled in for the night.

...

Jack's team spent that night and the entire next day with the other rebel group. After some training, Jack met with the base and squad leaders about his plan and informed them of the radio signal he would give when it was time to move out. Then they prepared to spend one more night before heading back home in the morning. Jack was lying on a cot in one of the spare rooms when he looked up and saw Maya in the doorway.

"Maya? What's up?"

"Nothing, can I come in?"

"Sure, something wrong?" He sat up and patted the cot next to him. She walked over and sat down.

"No, I just wanted to thank you for today."

He raised an eyebrow. "What did I do?"

She smiled and leaned against him, so he put an arm around her shoulders almost instinctively.

"You were right. When I started training today, the men thought it was a joke, making crude comments. Then after I put them on their backs over and over again, they shut up and listened."

"Yes, well, I've seen it before. I knew you had it in you to straighten them out."

"That's what I want to thank you for. You knew I had it in me when I didn't. You always do. No one has ever put that kind of faith in me."

"Well I don't put in faith in people that don't deserve it."

"I believe it, thanks to you. I never thought I deserved it before. Being a woman here is hard enough, but I was screwed up for a long time."

He noticed her eyes tear up and braced himself for another one of these conversations.

"Were you ever married?" she asked him.

He tried to hide the flicker of pain in his eyes, but was apparently unsuccessful.

"I was, a long time ago."

"Me too. I was so young and stupid. I married a man who was on the town council. He was violent. Not so much early on, but it got to the point where he would hit me every day, sometimes beating me until I was unconscious."

He heard her sniffle and tightened his arm around her. He contemplated hunting the guy down, but she didn't need that right now. Then something dawned on him.

"That's why you learned how to fight."

"Yeah. I would run off for days, just walking the streets. There was no training for women to learn how to fight, so I started running around with gangs of street thugs, learning from them. Then when I would come home, I would try to fight back and end up get beaten even worse."

"Is that not illegal here?"

"It is, but they don't care too much about it, and like I said, he was on the town council. He had local security in his pocket, so he knew nothing would ever happen to him, and so did I."

"Anyway, I kept running the streets, getting better at fighting until one day, my husband came at me with a knife..."

Tears were rolling down her face now, and he had a feeling as to what was coming.

"I managed to avoid it and knocked him down. Then ran into the bedroom to get the gun we had. I really didn't want to kill him, I just wanted him to put down the knife. But when I picked up the gun and turned around, he was charging right at me with the knife, and I shot him in the chest."

He wrapped both arms around her and held her in silence as she cried.

"By then I didn't love him anymore, but I did at one time, and it just made me feel so stupid. And then I wondered if it was my fault he was like that. And on Anteria, I told you, there are limited work options for single women, none of which I wanted to do, so I just wandered the streets. For years. I had no home and was attacked pretty often. I was lost. When the Aelvans attacked, I joined the resistance to help get them out of here, but also because I saw it as an opportunity to try to do something different with my life. But when I got here, it wasn't any better with Redden harassing me from day one and no one else even acknowledging that I was here. That was until you showed up."

"Maya, I appreciate that, but everything you've accomplished and are capable of is because of the work you put in. I had nothing to do with that."

She reached up and touched his cheek with her fingers.

"You did. You gave me the opportunity. You taught me how to put in the work. And you made me feel as though I could do it. I can never express to you enough how much that means to me and how thankful I am."

He shifted uncomfortably under weight of her words.

"Don't mention it."

After a short pause, she continued.

"Did anything like that happen to you, where you hurt or killed someone you cared about."

He immediately tensed up, causing her to back away and look at his face, the pain in his eyes bringing more tears to hers. She didn't say anything, just watched him.

Damn her. He knew he would upset her by closing himself off again, but he really didn't care. He didn't need this shit right now. But as he continued to look at her tear stained face, he thought of what she told him. She'd had about as rough a life as he had, and she told him something incredibly personal and painful. She really did deserve for him to answer in kind. He sat silently for several minutes that felt like hours while deciding what to tell her, and he finally gave in.

"Yeah. I told you I was married. I kept a gun in the house like you did. I kept it locked in a drawer in our bedroom. One day, I forgot to lock the drawer, and my nine year old son Charlie found the gun and shot and killed himself with it," he told her in a dull, detached voice.

He didn't look at her. Couldn't anymore. He didn't need her pity and couldn't handle seeing her disgust. Then he was shocked when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down to the bed, bawling her eyes out with her face buried in his chest. He didn't know what to make of this. He wanted to tell her to get out of here. Leave him to his misery. But hearing her sob, he didn't have the heart to do it, so he just laid his head down, eyes closed, with his legs hanging off the side of the bed. They didn't speak again that night, with Maya soon falling asleep on top of him.


	14. Old Friends

The next morning, Jack woke up to find Maya sprawled all over him, her head on his chest, her arm wrapped around his waist. He was still a bit shaky from last night, but it was tempered by the warmth he felt with her here like this. She really was one of the best people he had ever known, and he felt awful for what she had gone through in her life. He looked up and saw Teal'c standing just outside of the room, probably to keep everyone away from them, so he figured they'd better get up. He had a bad feeling that the trip home was going to be much harder than the trip here was.

"Maya," he whispered, but got no reaction. He stroked her brown hair a few times until her eyes opened. He could see her trying to remember where she was for a moment.

"Jack?"

"That's me. You know, if your bed was uncomfortable, you could have just asked me to trade with you."

She looked up at him and gave him a wide, sleepy smile before laying her head back down.

"Ah, time to get up. We have a long day today."

She pouted, adorably Jack thought, before grunting and getting off of him.

Jack gathered the team, had everyone eat and get geared up, and then they left into the tunnels to take them back to their base. When they reached the surface, Jack crept up to the edge of the rocks and peeked around the corner. Just as he feared, there were at least ten Aelvan guards watching, waiting for them to make their way across the opening. He turned back to the team behind him.

"Okay kids, we've got company, a lot of it. I'm going to give you covering fire from here while everyone runs to the other side. Teal'c, you can do the same for me from over there. Got it?"

"Understood, O'Neill."

"Good, when I start shooting, run."

Jack pulled out his Tommy gun and started shooting at the group of guards. He took a few of them down, but started spraying his fire to keep them from firing back at his people as they ran across the open ground. The others were well on their way, but when Maya started to run, the ground in front of her was pummeled with energy weapon fire, so he held her back. He was reloading his gun when he heard different weapons. Were those P-90s? Shit!

He looked over at their destination, and the others were safely across, and Teal'c was aiming a Tommy gun ready to give him suppressing fire. Jack looked around the corner again and saw SG teams in the distance, aimed right at them.

"For cryin' out loud, what the _fuck_ are they doing here?"

His mind was racing, but now wasn't the time to figure it out. He and Maya had to get across, nothing else mattered at the moment. Jack turned the Tommy gun and started spraying his fire again, hoping not to hit the SG units, but hoping to keep them from returning fire. Teal'c did the same from the other side.

"Maya, run! I'll be right behind you."

Jack continued firing as he ran behind Maya, and then reloaded while on the move, Maya only a step in front of him. They weren't more than fifteen feet away from safety when he saw a grenade fly in right behind him.

"Grenade!" he yelled and tackled Maya, covering her with his body. The explosion sent shrapnel ripping to Jack's legs and lower back.

"Ahhhhh, God!"

Maya looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"Go, Maya. I'll cover you," he choked out.

"No, I'm not leaving you here."

"JUST GO!"

With his head down, he reached over the edge of the trench and started firing again. Maya just sat there staring at him until Tomas ran back from the other side and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of harm's way. When Jack had exhausted his ammo, his arm dropped to the ground and he lost consciousness face down in the dirt.

...

SG-1 and SG-7 sat around the table in the building they were using to base this operation. They had just finished eating and were discussing the plan for the day. Right now, the Helvecon guards were on watch for the rebels, so the SG members didn't have much to do until the action started.

"Sam, how long are they going to have us sitting here waiting? I mean, they aren't even sure the rebels would have come back this way."

"They know, Daniel. They wouldn't have us out here like this if they didn't. I just hope it's all over after this."

Daniel didn't say anything. He had absolutely no desire to be here. Why he held on at the SGC for so long now, he had no idea. When Sam told him that they were going to start exploring again, even that didn't excite him anymore without his friends joining him. But he thought maybe it would be better than fighting rebels, so here he was. On another stake out waiting for the rebels because their mission was cancelled. After this one, he was done.

Then he heard gun fire in the distance. Sam ordered everyone to grab their weapons and they ran out the door. They were all pinned down by automatic weapons fire, but he could have sworn he saw a huge, familiar bald man run across the opening. He shook himself out of it. Why would Teal'c be here? When the rebel fire slowed down, they opened up again, seeing only two more trying to cross. Sam threw a grenade and he saw one of the rebels throw himself on top of the other before the blast. A moment later, when the shooting stopped, Sam ordered everyone to pursue them, but when they reached the opening, there was no sign of anyone. They only got one of the rebels, the rest got away. Sam dropped her head and was headed back when she turned to the rebel body on the ground. When she reached down and rolled it over, Daniel couldn't breathe.

"Colonel! Sir!" Sam called frantically. She felt for his pulse.

"He's alive Daniel, but he's hurt bad."

"Sam! We have to get him some help."

"I know, we aren't going to leave him here. Timmons! Horton! Take Colonel O'Neill to the Helvecons and tell them he needs medical care."

"Yes, ma'am."

Daniel was still in shock at seeing Jack here. Was he here this whole time? Why? How? Then another thought occurred to him. If Jack was here, that could very well have been Teal'c that he saw earlier. Sam was walking back with the rest of SG-1 and Jack, so Daniel turned and ran the way he saw rebels go. He eventually heard Sam yell for him, but ignored it. He was going to find out what the hell was going on. When he reached a dead end, he saw some jagged rocks that he could climb down to reach a narrow ledge below. This was the only way the rebels could have gone, so he went down there.

"Teal'c!" Daniel called out as he walked down the ledge.

"Teal'c! It's me! Don't shoot!"

He came up to a small cave in the side of the rock, so he slid his P-90 on the ground in front of the opening so they could see he wasn't armed.

"I'm coming in. I'm unarmed."

He turned the corner and came face to face with the business end of Teal'c staff weapon.

"Daniel Jackson. For what reason have you pursued us?"

"I saw what happened to Jack, so I wanted to find out what was really going here. They didn't follow me."

When Teal'c lowered his weapon, Daniel's face lit up in a smile that crinkled around his eyes.

"It's good to see you, Teal'c."

"And you as well," Teal'c replied as he bowed his head.

"Does O'Neill live?"

"Yeah, he was alive, but he was torn up pretty badly by the grenade. Sam took him for medical treatment."

"No! Teal'c, we have to get back up there and see where they're taking him," a panic stricken Maya cut in, her eyes a bit red from crying.

"Indeed."

"I'll come with you. I don't think they're going far though. At least not if they want him alive," Daniel noted.

"You guys wait here, we'll be back to make a plan," Maya ordered Joshen, Tomas, and Romar, earning her questioning looks, but she ignored them.

...

Jack began to wake, but kept his eyes closed. He had to figure out what was going on. He felt weak and sluggish, but not hung over, so he probably wasn't home. He tried to remember what happened. Shooting the guards. P-90s. Grenade. Shit. Well, unless Earth got another ally they had to do the dirty work for, it seems that the Aelva and the Helvecons were one and the same. They must have used a different name to hide from the Asgard. Now that he had his faculties about him, he noticed the pain. Shrapnel in his leg hurt like hell, but he'd been there and done that before. It was the internal pain in his back that was worrying him. He decided to see where he was, so he opened his eyes and was on a bed in an unfamiliar, gray room. He felt something on his wrist, so lifted his right arm and found it chained to the bed. That's just great. Then his door opened.

"Sir."

Jack's eyebrows shot up to his hair.

"Carter? Oh for cryin' out loud."

"Sir, how are you feeling?"

"Carter, I'm chained to the bed. I should be calling you 'sir'."

"Answer the question, Jack."

"I'm fine. Aren't I always?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I got my ass blown up by a grenade. How about you? I thought you were the wrong kind of doctor."

She almost quirked a smile, but he also noticed some guilt in her eyes. For what? Did she throw the grenade? If she did, she didn't need to feel guilty about it. She didn't know he was here. Or was it because those bastards were going to make her interrogate him?

"Why are you on this planet, Jack?"

He really wanted to tell her. Now that he knew who these guys were, Earth was in big trouble, and he would need all of the help he could get to deal with that. But he made a point to look at the camera in the corner of the room, making sure she knew why he wasn't going to tell her a damn thing. He didn't want them to know what he knew, and he definitely couldn't implicate the Asgard in any of this. If the Aelva knew Thor was relying on his old, crippled ass to fight their battles for them, they would be emboldened to do whatever they want throughout the galaxy.

"I went for a walk around the lake in Minnesota. I guess I lost my way."

At that, she rolled her eyes as the door opened again, and Danwig entered the room. Jack's eyes immediately went blank.

"Colonel O'Neill."

"Dunlap."

He glared at Jack.

"Dauber?"

He could swear he saw steam coming out of Danwig's ears.

"Colonel, why are you here on this world?"

"As I told Carter..."

"I know what you told her, now I'm here for the truth."

"I'm sure you are. Good luck with that."

"I am quite capable of making you talk," Danwig threatened.

"I'll bet, but you don't want your girlfriend to see how you guys really operate, do you?"

"My _fiancée_ knows exactly how we operate, with honor, not acting above the law like the likes of you and your rebels."

Fiancée? Well, he wasn't really surprised. One of them was bound to stick. Too bad for her when she finds out who this one really works for. What did surprise him was that he wasn't all that bothered by it. It kind of hurt, but not bad. Not enough to dwell on it.

"Relax, chief. No one buys that. Now, you go ahead and use that honor to get me to talk."

Danwig growled and took Sam's hand.

"Come on, honey. Let's go home. They'll finish this up and send him back to Earth when he's well enough to travel."

Sam looked startled when he grabbed her hand, but she followed him out the door in a daze without a word.


	15. Escape

After they gated back to Earth, Danwig was walking down the corridor toward the infirmary to find Sam. He didn't know what O'Neill was doing on Anteria, but he intended to find out, and maybe Sam could shed some light on the topic. He never liked O'Neill, not only because he was obviously smitten with Sam, but also because of the disrespect that would come out of his mouth. Danwig had been a commander for a long time and was used to people fearing him, and he would be damned if he would let it slide for some loud mouthed idiot from Earth.

He approached the infirmary when he overheard Sam talking to someone, so he stopped short and listened in.

"Janet, I don't know what he was doing there. Why would he go there to fight our allies?"

"I don't know, Sam, but you know the Colonel. There had to be a good reason for it."

"Do you think it could be because of me? Some revenge thing because I'm with someone else?"

Janet paused for a moment before answering.

"Wow, I've never heard you admit out loud that you knew how he felt. Sam, he is the king of holding grudges, but fighting a war against Earth's allies? Just because you broke his heart? You know him better than that."

She winced and sighed miserably. "I know, Janet. I just don't know what to think. It's not like the Helvecons have done us wrong. Everything they've received, even the land for their Thatrium mines, was handled legally and according to the treaty."

"He didn't say anything to you when you questioned him?"

"He looked like he wanted to, but kept looking at the camera in the room. Obviously he didn't want them to know what he was going to tell me."

After another delay, Sam continued.

"How did he even get there? The only possible ways were if he used the gate without our knowledge or if the Asgard took him. He is their ambassador after all. But why would they take him to that planet?"

Danwig's ears perked up immediately when he heard that. So apparently these people have worked pretty closely with the Asgard in the past, and O'Neill in particular. Why would they want to deal with an imbecile like him? This wasn't good. He needed to take the next step before they were caught here unprepared.

They only had three of their new generation of ships in operation, with another almost finished. He was confident that the new ships built with Thatrium would rival anything the Asgard could throw at them, but they needed more time before confronting them. Anteria was plentiful in Thatrium but was also a much smaller planet than Earth. They would probably be able to extract enough of the element from Earth to build ten or twelves ships, so they needed to speed up the process before the Asgard found out they were here. That meant building many more mines and eliminating O'Neill, and now the deserter Dr. Jackson as well.

"And you said Daniel ran off after them? What the hell was he thinking?"

"I don't know. I hope they didn't kill him," she replied, her voice laced with worry.

"Sam, if anyone can talk their way through that situation, it's Daniel. I was just saying, I'm pretty sure they won't let him come back here now."

"Probably not. I hope General Hammond will work something out if we get him back."

Danwig had heard enough. If Dr. Jackson wanted to join the enemy, he was going to be treated like one. He quietly turned and walked away before his presence was detected.

...

After following the SG teams for a while, Daniel, Teal'c and Maya discovered that Jack had been taken to the old convention center building that housed the transporter. Since they had the plans for the building at the base, they headed back there to come up with a plan. It was Tomas' squad that went there the last time, so they would come again this time, along with Daniel and Teal'c. They would enter the same way as before, through the sewers into the maintenance room. From there, Maya would climb into the ductwork and locate Jack. Then she would come back and get Teal'c and Tomas to meet her at the room, where she would enter from the vent and unlock the door from inside.

Maya crawled through the ductwork, looking for any sign of Jack in the rooms below, when she heard someone talking.

"All you have to do is talk, Colonel. Just talk and the pain will stop."

Jack did not reply.

"Why are you on this planet!?"

The guard slapped Jack in the face, splattering a small amount of blood onto his hospital gown.

"To see the look on your wife's face at your funeral," Jack spat, infuriating the guard who began to kick him in the stomach and stomp on his ribs.

Maya couldn't watch any longer, so she opened the cover and fired her zat at the guard, taking him down, then taking two more shots to eliminate the evidence. She looked down at Jack and saw the blood dripping from his mouth during his labored breathing. His shredded legs had been opened back up, soaking the bottom of his gown with blood. She held in her tears as she headed back for the others. On her way, she cringed thinking about Jack antagonizing the guards. Even after getting to know him as she had, Maya was still surprised on occasion at the hateful bastard Jack O'Neill could be, but that didn't stop her heart from breaking at the macabre sight of him lying on the floor.

When she reached Tomas and Teal'c, she told them where to meet her. Luckily, the room wasn't far from the break room they infiltrated before, so it wasn't a long way to their exit. Maya rushed back to the room, jumped out of the vent, and immediately ran to open the door. She turned to go to Jack when she heard shooting, guns and energy weapons. She crouched in the doorway and saw Teal'c and Tomas taking cover in the hallway directly across from the door. Then she peered around the corner and saw three guards at the end of the adjacent hallway. From her vantage point, she had a better angle at the guards, so she took her zat, reached around the corner, and fired, taking one down. The next time she looked, she saw a guard go down with a staff weapon blast to the chest, and then she leaned out and took down the last guard. She ran back to Jack's side, touching his face with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Jack? Can you hear me?"

His eyes fluttered open and he rasped weakly, "Maya? How?"

"Don't worry, we're getting you out of here. And we have to go right now."

"More guards will encroach upon our position momentarily, Maya Rincon."

"Get Jack, Teal'c, and let's go," she ordered.

Teal'c lifted Jack into his arms, causing him to moan in pain and spit blood on the floor. When they made to leave the room, they could hear more guards running down the next hallway. Maya grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it out where the other bodies were while they made their exit going the other way. A moment later, she heard the explosion and the screams, so she hoped they were in the clear. They hurried back to the maintenance room, lowered Jack down below where the rest of the team waited with a stretcher, and then the rest of them climbed down and moved out.

...

In the treatment room, Jack was lying unconscious on the bed while the others debated the next course of action. Over the months, they have managed to get a good size supply of medical necessities, a real doctor, and even a local internal imaging machine, but this still wasn't a hospital.

"He's bleeding internally from the broken ribs. There is a piece of shrapnel in his kidney, causing bleeding there as well. He needs complicated surgery, and this is not a hospital. I can not operate on him down here," the doctor complained. The indignance in his expression changed quickly when Teal'c stepped up to him.

"You will."

The doctor gulped before responding nervously.

"How am I..."

"You will alert us to anything you will require, and it will be provided for you."

"Okay, okay," he choked out, withering under Teal'c stare.

It turned out that they had everything they needed already, except for a completely sterile environment that is, and the doctor only required one of them for an extra pair of hands through the surgeries. He successfully stopped the bleeding from his ribs but was worried about Jack's kidney.

"I have removed the shrapnel from his kidney, but it still bleeds. If it does not stop, it will have to be removed. I am also worried about infection."

"He can live with one kidney though, right?" Daniel asked.

"He can, but in the immediate term, from his other injuries, he is going to be heavily medicated, which can even put a strain on a person with two healthy kidneys. It will not be easy for him."

The doctor left as Maya, Daniel, and Teal'c just nodded and remained seated in the room with Jack asleep on the bed.

"God, Teal'c. No matter where he goes he finds trouble, doesn't he?"

"Indeed."

Daniel turned his head to see tears in Maya's eyes again.

"Maya, I guess you have and Jack have gotten pretty close, huh?"

She sniffled and answered, "You could say that. I love him."

Daniel's eyes were nearly bulging out of his head.

"Oh. So you two..."

"No. I want to talk him about it soon, but I've been a mess, and so has he. I suspect he hasn't even really thought about anything with me since he doesn't plan on staying here, but it's like pulling teeth to get him to talk about anything."

Daniel smiled at that.

"Yeah, it is. I see Jack hasn't changed in the last year.

"He did tell me about Charlie though. Well, at least what happened."

Daniel's jaw dropped, and he was gaping at her.

"Wow. We all know what happened, but he never speaks about it. Hell, I only found out about because nine years ago when I met him I was practically trying to pull the gun out of his mouth."

Now Maya looked stunned, but she also saw an opportunity. It seemed Daniel's tongue was a lot looser than Teal'c's.

"Really? I can't even imagine what it was like for him. I was telling him about something that happened to me a long time ago and then asked him if he ever had hurt or killed someone he cared about. He really didn't even answer the question though, because that wasn't his fault."

"I'm surprised he answered at all. Of course, he could have also mentioned when he had to zat Sam twice when she was overtaken by a computer entity or when I was dying and he stopped them from healing me so that I could ascend to a higher plane of existence."

"What?" she squeaked.

"Oh, right. Never mind. It's a really long story."

"He really has been through hell, hasn't he? He told me about Iraq, too."

"He what!? I don't even know what happened to him there, though I know it wasn't good."

Maya just sat there watching Jack for any movement, so Daniel continued.

"Maya, I'm going to give you some advice for dealing with this. It's obvious just by the fact that he's even talked to you about those things that he cares a great deal for you, but he doesn't think too highly of himself. You were right that he's been through hell, but it's even more than you know. Not just horrible things that have happened to him, but horrible things he's had to do in the military. I know that if you try to talk to him about this, he will tell you that you deserve better. He won't want to you to leave your home for him."

"I don't even have a home here. He knows that."

"Still, I know how he is. He won't want to burden you with his baggage."

"Please. I have as much baggage as he does. And he know that too."

"I also know that he was in love with someone before he arrived here on your planet."

He saw Maya deflate and look completely miserable, so he quickly continued.

"They weren't together, actually never were. Sam is engaged to the commander of the enemy out there, ironically enough. But Jack was miserable about it, and may not be totally over it yet. So my advice to you would be not to take 'no' for an answer, to understand where he's coming from, but give him some time before you spring the 'l' word on him."

She gave him a big smile.

"Thanks, Daniel. So I just have to wait to make sure he is over this woman? She must be some kind of idiot. Jack is the most rugged, sexy, fascinating man I've ever met."

"Well, she's a genius, but her taste in men leaves a lot of be desired."

She chuckled. "I guess. Wait, you said Sam. He had to zat her twice? Did he love her then?"

"Yeah, he did. It's amazing that she survived, and Jack probably wouldn't be here now if she hadn't."

They fell silent again for a moment before Maya broke it.

"I hope he's going to be okay now," she almost whispered.

"He will be. He's come back from much worse."

...

Sam was walking toward the briefing room after being called in for another mission. She wondered if the General would assign her another teammate with Daniel gone, but she supposed she would find out soon. Then she thought about what this mission might be. She assumed they were going back to the mining planet, but she had no idea what to do when she got there. She considered trying to find out about the rebels from the locals, and then felt more than a little shame that they hadn't done that when the Colonel wanted to do it so long ago.

She still didn't know what to think about all of this. She talked about it briefly with Danwig last night, and he said they would find out more when the Colonel was brought back to Earth. She really didn't want to get into too much detail with him though, still not knowing where to fall in this debate. The Colonel was fighting a war against him and his people, and in all actuality, against Earth too. He had to have a reason for joining the rebels, but she didn't know what it was, and the Helvecons have done nothing wrong, so it was down to her gut. Did she trust the man she was going to marry? Or did she trust Colonel O'Neill?

She walked into the briefing room and was quickly joined by General Thomas Ralph. Everyone stood at attention.

"At ease. I'm ready for your briefing, so let's get started."

"Sir? If I may, where is General Hammond?"

"He was called away to Washington urgently, Colonel, but I am prepared to brief you."

"Yes, sir."

SG-1, without a new member for now, along with SG-3, SG-10, and SG-13 were seated around the table. Sam looked around and noticed that she didn't know who any of these people were. Where was Colonel Reynolds? Colonel Dixon? She shook it off to listen to their orders. Apparently the Colonel had escaped. The mission now was to coordinate with the Helvecons and start searching the tunnels for Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. Capture if possible. If not, use lethal force. She felt like her head was spinning. Alarms were blaring in her ears, and she thought she was going to be sick.

She couldn't do it. Air Force through and through, but she finally ran into orders she could not follow. After the briefing ended, she approached General Ralph.

"Sir, do you have a moment?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"I regret to inform you that I will not be able to participate in this mission, sir," she said softly.

"And why not?"

"I can't do it, sir. And I won't."


	16. Waking Up

The next morning, the same group of three waited in a private treatment room they set up for Jack while he recovered. Teal'c stood guard at the bottom of the bed, Maya sat in a chair next to Jack's head and Daniel in chair farther down.

"This brings back memories. We haven't had a good bedside vigil in a while," Daniel said to the room, but mainly Teal'c, since this was Maya's first.

"It has been some time, Daniel Jackson."

"What, this was a regular occurrence?" Maya asked incredulously.

"Indeed. O'Neill's manner tends to bring injury and discomfort upon himself."

She couldn't bite back her nervous giggle, despite the situation. Especially after seeing him with that guard yesterday, she understood what he was saying.

The doctor walked in to check on Jack and saw them sitting in there. When he finished reading Jack's vitals, he turned to them.

"You really don't need to wait here. He's on high doses of pain medication right now, so he won't be awake for hours, and even if he did wake, he wouldn't be coherent."

"We understand, Doctor, but this is what we do, what we've always done," Daniel informed him.

"As you wish. Just don't disturb him," he answered before leaving the room.

Sure enough, moments after the doctor left, Jack stirred slightly on the bed. Maya got up and stood over him. His eyes opened and locked onto hers. She thought they looked a bit empty, or cloudy, but she could understand that with all of the drugs they had flowing through him. He stared at her for a moment before his mouth opened.

"Those eyes, so beautiful," he mumbled, then closed his eyes.

Maya's cheeks flushed bright pink, and she turned her head to see a big smile on Daniel's face.

"What was that, Jack?" he asked him.

Jack opened his eyes again and blinked a couple of times before closing them again.

...

"Look, Danwig, we can get you some more land, but not what you're asking. You want half of the land in the country! We still have to win elections or you'll have to deal with a whole new set of people."

"Then I suggest you find the support, Senator."

Danwig sat on the couch in Sam's living room after hanging up on Senator Wilcox, the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He was starting to worry about their progress. Negotiations in Russia and China have been slower than planned, and while the deal was done with the European Union, the actual completion of the mines was behind schedule.

Senator Wilcox was on the board for one of the defense contractors that had been a recipient of Aelvan military technology, so he definitely had an interest in keeping Danwig happy, but that was the problem with politics, it was slow. He was probably going to have to buy more Congressmen if he wanted to get this moving along.

Earlier in the day, he informed the ship orbiting Anteria to report any contact with any Asgard vessel, and so far there has been no sign of them. He just hoped they got to O'Neill and Jackson before they alerted the Asgard of the Aelvan presence on Earth.

...

Jack didn't awaken again until later that afternoon. This time, when he opened his eyes, he saw the gray concrete walls of his underground home for the past eight months. The drugs from the operation had worn off now, and the pain medication was lowered to tolerance to try to protect his kidneys, so the pain in his back was immediately noticeable, even if dulled a bit. He looked up to see a familiar set of blue eyes.

"Daniel?"

"Hey, Jack. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Daniel. What are you doing here?" Jack asked, still stunned to see his friend here.

"I thought I would check in with the other side of the war. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Thor brought me here. I'm sure Teal'c already filled you in."

"Yeah, he did. You know, Aelvaeones, Helveconae, Helvecones, were all variants of names for the same Germanic tribe on Earth."

"Oh? Well, thank you, Daniel. I knew I could count on you to get me that information in a timely manner."

"Don't be an ass, Jack. How the hell did this happen? You didn't know the Aelva and Helvecons were the same people?"

"No, Daniel, how the hell was I supposed to know that? I never went to their home world. I was only on this planet for a half hour before Hammond called us back. The only two of them I'd even met were Dimsum and Igor at that prison building."

"Okay. Nothing sounded familiar when Thor told you about them?"

"Thor dragged me off of my dock falling down drunk, and he certainly didn't give me the onomatology lesson."

"Onomatology? You're going to blow your cover using words like that."

Jack took a deep breath and relaxed, enjoying seeing his best friend again.

"It's good to see you, Space Monkey."

Daniel broke out into a big grin and replied, "You too, Jack. I wish I would have known where you were though. I spent months fearing the worst. I went to your cabin looking for clues and everything."

Jack noticed the extra lines around Daniel's eyes and felt a pang of guilt for putting him through that.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't exactly have a chance to call you. If you would have been on Earth at the time, Thor was going to bring you and Carter too."

"I understand. It was just tough. Especially when we had to pack up and move your stuff out of your house without you there."

"What!?"

Daniel startled at the outburst, and then quickly looked embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry. Your whole neighborhood in Colorado Springs was taken by the government to build a mine for the Helvecons."

"Son of a bitch," he growled.

"I've got all of your stuff in storage, but still, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, Danny boy. And thanks."

...

Sam was sitting on the cot in her dark cell in the brig stewing over her situation. Danwig came by not long ago and promised to do everything in his power to get her out, but she didn't know how much good it would do. She remembered how he was unable to do anything to stop the Colonel's reassignment, and she also didn't know if he even wanted her out.

What an awful thing to think about the man she pledged to spend the rest of her life with, but it would be just like her. Every romantic relationship she had ever been in turned out to be a disaster. It seemed that expecting her happiness to result from her career, and choosing a partner that fit that plan, wasn't working out too well. And now she sat here in a cell awaiting her court martial for dereliction of duty. The Air Force meant everything to her for so long, and her career was in ruins. She hoped her worries about Danwig were unfounded, but she didn't think that very likely at this point.

She was certain that something was wrong now. She knew that Hammond would never have given them a mission to hunt down Daniel and the Colonel, so he was called back in favor of someone who would. She hadn't seen any sign of some of the long time members of the SGC the entire day until she was detained by SFs. Why was she always so damn trusting? Hadn't she learned any paranoia from the Colonel over the years? Or did she purposely try to shut out any of his personality traits to keep herself from pondering them in inappropriate ways? Or even worse, did she reject those traits and intentionally behave contrary to them to prove to herself that she didn't need him or his influence? Hell, she knew either of those were possible, and that made her ashamed of herself.

She could see how Daniel was so disgusted by her behavior. He thought she wasn't worried about the Colonel all of these months, but she couldn't let herself dwell on it and risk showing more than the appropriate amount of concern. It wouldn't have been fair to her fiancee, the one that had her locked up in a cell right now. She snorted bitterly at herself. How could someone supposedly so smart be so stupid? Her mind was in chaos, switching between berating herself and hoping she was wrong. She was going to go insane if she didn't get some answers.

And now, the Colonel and Daniel were out there unable to help her, unable to tell her what they know. She put her head in hands and sighed heavily, not sure of anything at this point.

...

After staying up all night sitting next to Jack's bed, Maya had gone to her quarters for a few hours of sleep. Now awake, she immediately washed up and changed and headed back toward his room. As she approached, she heard voices, Jack's and Daniel's, so she stopped short, waiting for a break in the conversation to join them. She knew he hadn't seen Daniel in months, so she wanted to give them some time, but she longed to see him, see that he was okay.

Overhearing them brought a smile to her face. Hearing Jack with a long time friend was such a contrast to how he was for most of his time on Anteria. She was grateful that she was able to befriend him, because before that he was utterly lonely and downright sullen. That he sounded so much happier brought up another rush of longing in her chest, so she decided to listen in for a chance to interrupt them.

"So, how has it been here, Jack?"

"It's been okay, I guess. There are some good people. Their society is a bit..."

"Male dominated?"

Jack nodded.

"I know. Maya told me about it."

"Yeah? She's one of the good people. The best, really," Jack replied with a soft smile on his face.

"I can tell. And you've got a heck of an admirer in her," Daniel added with a knowing look, shooting it directly to Jack.

Maya felt her cheeks warm up, and she got a little irritated. She didn't expect Daniel to just blurt it out like that. Of course, she already knew that he can't keep his mouth shut, so she figured she shouldn't be surprised.

"Daniel," Jack warned.

"Jack?"

"Daniel, why is that you always pick some gorgeous woman and decide that my worn out, old ass should make a pass at her?"

Now she was turning red and her heart was fluttering. He thought she was gorgeous?

"I do not."

"Do."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Jack. I do not. Just gorgeous women that you obviously care about. I don't tell you to go pick someone up at the bar."

"Enough, Daniel. What are you planning to do here? Fight with us? Can you even go back to Earth?"

"I doubt I can go back. I ran away behind enemy lines during a mission. I'll stay here, if you don't mind. But what more are you going to do? You'll be here the rest of your life fighting a guerilla war. Not to mention, Earth will be sending more people through."

"I figured as much. I guess we will have to bury the gate. I don't want to be killing our own people, but I can't keep these guys from killing them if they attack, so hopefully burying the gate will solve that problem."

"Can you bury the gate?"

"Why not? We've got dynamite. Or whatever they call it here."

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"What they call it here."

"No. I don't really care. Should I?"

"Not you, I suppose. I wouldn't mind taking a look at their culture and language while we're here."

"For cryin' out loud!"

"Hey, I've been playing Delta Force for the past year. I can't even remember the last artifact I found."

"We aren't here to play with rocks, Daniel. We need to get rid of these assholes as quickly as we can so we can get home and do the same there."

"You aren't even going to be out of bed for a couple weeks. I have time while you recover."

"No rocks, Daniel."

"Artifacts, Jack."

"Daniel!" he growled.

Maya had waited long enough. She was now familiar enough with their banter to recognize that she wasn't interrupting anything important, so she walked in the door with a smile on her face that brightened the whole room.

"Hi, Jack, you're awake."

"Maya, how are you?"

"Better now," she mumbled with moisture in her eyes then cursed herself for crying again. She walked up to his bed and hugged him around his neck, avoiding his ribs.

"So I heard you've been giving orders around here," he told her with a smirk on his face.

"What?"

"Tomas and Romar were in here earlier and said something you ordering people around after I was captured."

She thought back to what they were talking about and remembered a few occasions. She lowered her head and blushed slightly before looking at him again.

"I guess so. I'm sorry."

He waved away her worry.

"Hey, they followed your orders, so no harm done. I wanted to thank you for the rescue though. I hope you can see that you are capable of a lot more than you thought you were. I'm proud of you."

Her eyes filled up again, she beamed a smile at him. God, this was hard. Now that it looked like he was going to make it, all she could think about was kissing him. It took all of her will power not to launch herself at him.

"Thank you, Jack."

"So what did I miss while I was gone?"

After that, Maya and Daniel chatted a little while longer with Jack until he fell asleep again for the night.


	17. Liberation

The next few weeks saw Jack's gradual return toward health, and now that he was able to move around again, he was ready to get this final mission in motion. If Janet were here, she would have his ass for even thinking about getting back in the field while his ribs were still knitting, but she wasn't, and Jack really didn't give a damn what the Anterian doctor had to say about it. He wasn't too worried about it, to be honest. He wouldn't be doing anything that put his ribs in jeopardy, and if he was captured, they would be broken again anyway, regardless of if they were healthy. He'd simply had enough of lying around doing nothing, and it seemed that everyone else was anxious to get him out of their hair.

He laughed to himself thinking about poor Maya. He knew he was a total asshole and an awful patient, and now she knew first hand. He apologized to her, but he really deserved for her to kick his ass and wouldn't blame her one bit if she wanted to.

Anyway, today he had Daniel, Teal'c, Tomas' squad, Joshen's squad and Romar's squad all gathered in the subway station so they had enough room to go over the plan.

"Daniel, do you know how to use any of the Aelvan technology?"

"Not much. I know how to use the transporter. There is one code that connects each two transporters. I know the code to get from here to the transporter by the gate. That's about it."

"There's one by the gate now?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that should make it a bit easier for Romar's team and Joshen's team. Once we take the building in town where the transporter is, you guys can just beam right over to the gate. It's simple from there. Secure the area, blow a hole in the ground, then blow the Stargate over into the hole. Then just cover it with rocks."

"What if we destroy the gate, sir?" Romar asked.

"You won't. Those damn things can hold up to anything you can throw at it. Do what you need to do to knock it over. You won't hurt it."

"Have you been on this ship in orbit, Daniel?"

"No, Jack. No one from SG-1 has, so I doubt anyone else from Earth has either. In fact none of us have even been on their ships back home, well except Sam every once in a while."

"Damn it, I hate going in blind, but we don't have a choice. According to our prisoner, there is a turret in the room where the ship's transporter is, so what I want to do is send up some dynamite on a timer. If we put it on some kind of pedestal, hopefully it will take out the turret in the air and any people in the room, but not destroy the transporter."

"I'm pretty sure it won't hurt the transporter, Jack, unless you use way too much explosive. The inner workings of the transporter are under the floor."

"Good, Then we'll do the same before Romar and Joshen transport to the gate. After that, we beam up there and take the ship. I want to see if we can fly it if possible. If not, we'll blow it up. Daniel, you can read their language, right?"

"Yeah, I can."

"Good. We'll ship out at sundown tonight."

Everyone got up and headed in their own directions, but Maya stayed back for a word with Jack.

"It's good to have you back, Jack."

He snorted. "I'll bet. At least you won't be checking up on me in the sick bay anymore."

She chuckled back at him. "Well, you were pretty insufferable, but it's okay. Daniel explained what a poor patient you are. I'm sorry for flying off the handle."

"Don't, Maya. I deserved a lot worse than that."

She appeared to consider him for a moment.

"Why do you always do that? Think you deserve the worst?"

Jack was taken aback by her blunt question and didn't know how to respond.

"Because you don't. You're an amazing man. You deserve everything you want."

She turned and walked away leaving him something to think about.

...

"Our men are ready, Danwig. We will have the area you requested secured within the week."

"Good, see to it that it is."

"We will. We don't need this to linger in the news cycle. People might wonder why we are mobilizing such a large force to take part of Ethiopia. We can only use terrorism as an excuse for so long."

"Cut the bullshit, General. You can create any narrative you need to. Just get it done."

Danwig cut off the call with the Secretary of Defense, General Tompkins. He was never one to put all of his eggs in one basket, so while waiting for the developed world to pick up the pace, Danwig decided that he wanted the Thatrium rich hills of western Ethiopia. The problem with that was that no one really had the power in the region to give it to him, so another shake down of the U.S. government was in order. They could take and guard the land for him while he got the mining operation set up.

The output from Earth's mines has improved in recent weeks, but it wasn't enough, so he's been preoccupied looking for other options. On top of that, he didn't know what to do about Sam. He couldn't have her digging around and ruin his plans, but if he could convince her to trust him more than that blowhard O'Neill, it would be useful to have her on his side. Not to mention, he missed the sex. These other Earth females just paled in comparison, in appearance, physicality and sensuality. Still, he couldn't jeopardize everything because he was horny, so he put that idea on the back burner for now.

...

Tomas' team and three quarters of the old SG-1 entered the convention center building in their usual spot, through the sewers and into the maintenance room. From there they swept every room, taking out a few guards on the way. The building didn't appear to be too busy tonight, but Jack knew those turrets were waiting in the room with the transporter.

The group made their way to end of the hallway, just a right turn away from the wide open room. Jack took a quick look around the corner and got a clear visual on one of the turrets. He grabbed Teal'c staff weapon, aimed and fired, blowing the turret to pieces. Then he heard energy weapons fire, presumably from the main room where some guards saw what just happened. Two guards ran right around the corner and were mowed down by Tomas and Maya. He ordered them to wait there while he took Teal'c and his staff again and ran to the other end of the hallway where he did the same thing on that side and blew up the turret. He handed the staff weapon to Teal'c and started walking back to the others when he heard a staff blast. He turned back around and saw another guard lying on the shiny white tile floor with a smoking crater in the middle of his chest.

"Thanks, buddy," he said to Teal'c, who simply bowed his head in reply.

Then they walked out into the massive hall and approached the transporter.

"Tomas, have your team establish a perimeter. Romar, let's get the dynamite set up."

"Yes, sir," was the stereo reply.

They sent the dynamite through, and a minute later Romar's team and Joshen's team transported to the building near the Stargate, which Jack confirmed over the radio moments later. Then they sent a batch of explosives up to the ship on a ten second timer. They waited 20 seconds before beaming up.

They appeared in a fairly small, circular room with shiny navy blue walls and floors and a white ceiling that had some chunks blown out of it by the explosion. The room had a silver double door, one half of which was destroyed in the blast. Excellent. Then they heard footsteps running toward their position.

"Find some cover," Jack whispered and took position beside the closed half of the door. He looked around the corner and saw two guards approaching the room carefully, then Jack locked eyes with Maya, silently ordering her to come to the other side of the door, which she obliged. He signaled for her to fire on him, and when the door slid open, he fired his pistol into the head of the guard on the opposite side of the doorway while Maya did the same from her side.

There were more guards on the ship than in the building they cleared on the surface, but not too many for the 15 of them to handle yet. They cleared the rooms in the back half of the ship and were about to enter the main hallway that ran down the center to the front. Hugged up against the wall, Jack peeked around the corner and the flash of the turret fire caused him to immediately jerk back, but not before his arm was seared by the shots.

"I really hate those damn things," he growled looking at the hole in his shirt sleeve and the cauterized wound on his left bicep.

"Sir, let me," Maya offered.

"I'm fine, let's just..."

"Jack," she ordered as she pulled out the first aid kit to dress his wound.

He looked startled at her authoritative tone. Hell, she reminded him a little of that Napoleonic power monger back at home when she got all pissy about his health these days.

"Fine. Teal'c, turret down that hallway at 11 o'clock. You want to try to take it out while I get fixed up?"

"As you wish, O'Neill," he replied with what Jack could swear was a smirk on his face.

Teal'c reached the hallway and from one knee took out the turret, and then fired a couple more shots into a couple of guards that were heading their way. By the time that was all wrapped up, Jack was ready to go again.

"Thanks, Maya. Everyone, let's move now."

There wasn't as much action in the front half of the ship until they reached the bridge where the door was locked from the inside.

"Alright, kids. We don't have any C4, so dynamite will have to do. I'll set it for 15 seconds, then everyone back around the corner down the hall."

"Yes, sir."

They heard the explosion and ran back to find the door blown off of the bridge. There was only one person in there, probably the commander of the ship for all he knew. He was firing relentlessly at the doorway, so Jack tried to get a look at him as carefully as he could. Then he reached his right hand into the room, aimed his Beretta, and fired twice into the commander's chest. He ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep breath.

"Danny boy, see what you can make of this."

Daniel looked at the main console at the front of the ship while Jack looked around at what was a fairly basic setup for what was such a technologically superior race.

"Jack, it says the console is locked. We probably need some kind of password to get in there."

"I should have figured. Can't you, I don't know, hack it like Carter would?"

"Jack? No, I can't just 'hack it like Carter would.'"

"Right. Well, try some passwords. Maybe you'll guess it."

Daniel looked at Jack in absolute incredulity.

"It's our best shot. Otherwise we get nothing anyway."

"Okay. If you say so."

After entering two incorrect passwords, the screen shut off. Then an announcement began playing through the ship.

"Self destruct initiated and will commence in two minutes."

"Shit, everyone run back to the transporter!"

They all sprinted as fast as they could through the ship and reached the room where they entered. The countdown was under ten seconds when everyone was on the platform and Jack entered the code. At two seconds, they instantly appeared in the convention center building. Jack went to the building's exit, opened the door, and stepped outside to gaze upon the fireball in the night sky. Then he reached for his radio.

"Romar? Status."

"The target is in the ground. Mission will be complete in ten minutes, sir."

"Copy that."

After that, Jack sent the message over his radio for the rebels to take back the surface. A few minutes later, he heard some gunfire in the distance, but it didn't sound like a huge war had broken out, to his relief.

"Okay, campers, let's go home."


	18. Coming With You

"What the hell do you mean it doesn't work?" Danwig snapped at the new lieutenant in the control room.

"The wormhole to P5G-292 will not engage, sir."

"Well fix it!"

"Yes, sir. Our technicians have been working on it."

Danwig stomped out of the room and into the General's office.

"Ralph, I'm going to have to go get Sam from the brig to fix the Stargate. Make sure she is properly guarded and taken back as soon as she is finished."

"Will do."

...

Sam was seated on her cot with her knees pulled up to her chest staring at nothing, lost in her thoughts. She was going crazy with nothing to work on, no one to talk to, and no more idea of what was going than she had when she was first thrown in here.

The only news was that she still hadn't had her court martial, which should have been weeks ago. That gave her hope that Danwig was working on a way to get her out of here. She still didn't know who to trust, but if he could get her out, she would be immensely grateful. Interrupting her thoughts was the sound of footsteps in the hallway. She looked up to see her fiancée and an SF _._

"Hi, Sam. How are you holding up, honey?"

"The same as always," she mumbled.

"I'm still working on freeing you, but at least right now I can get you out for a short time."

She looked up at him hopefully.

"How?"

"There is a problem with the Stargate, so they sent me down to fetch you. Obviously you don't have to do anything, but it would probably look good to the powers that be if you helped out."

"Let's go!" she exclaimed. She didn't know what they wanted from her, or even if she should really be helping them, but she needed to get out of this damn cell.

The SF opened the door and Danwig wrapped his arms around Sam and kissed her.

"Let's go. And it won't be much longer, honey."

"Thank you."

She got to the control room, dialed P5G-292, and ran a diagnostic on the gate. There were no anomalies. After checking everything else she could think of, she announced her conclusion.

"Well, there are other things it could be, but it's highly doubtful that the planet drifted far enough over last week to cause the address not to work anymore. In my opinion, the gate on P5G-292 is buried."

Danwig looked furious for a moment before schooling his expression. Sam noticed, but didn't care. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She hardly knew. She was just happy to be around other people and not sitting on that cot.

...

After a couple of weeks of sporadic fighting on the surface, the war was coming to an end. The last of the Aelva were holed up in their mines, surrounded by the citizens of Anteria, many of whom joined the fight when the tables were turned against their invaders. The fighters in Jack's tunnel were packing their stuff to head back to their homes, well, those that had them. Joshen and Romar stopped by Jack's office to see him seated behind his desk.

"Sir, we're just about ready to go," Joshen reported.

"Good. You two did a hell of a job here. It was an honor."

The two men looked a bit taken aback before Romar chimed in.

"The honor was ours, sir. We have learned so much from you, and not just in combat. You will always be welcome on Anteria."

"Thanks, guys. I was just doing my job. Besides, I might be stuck here for a while anyway. I contacted Thor almost two months ago now without a word from him."

"Well, you are welcome to stay at my home, but I wouldn't have room for your friends. You could always take the convention center for a while."

"I appreciate the offer, Romar, but yeah, the center sounds like a better bet."

After they left, Jack grabbed his bag and tracked down Daniel, Teal'c, and Maya. He found them on the surface, just outside the entrance to their tunnel.

"I see you guys were in a hurry to get out of there."

"Yeah, Jack. As used to being underground as I am, I still prefer it outside."

"Me too, Daniel. Well, I guess we'll camp out at the convention center since we don't have anywhere else to stay. Maya, you can come with if you like. I know you said you didn't have a place to go."

She smiled and her eyes sparkled at him. "Thanks, Jack."

As they began to walk away, they were stopped by Tomas.

"Sir, I just wanted to thank you for everything."

"Not necessary, Tomas. You deserve a lot of the credit too. After the rocky start, you've done a great job."

"Thank you, sir."

Then Tomas turned to Maya and held out a hand. Jack could see the apology coming and also that Tomas looked quite smitten. Was he getting jealous? That's ridiculous. He was going home as soon as Thor got there, and Maya was a treasure of a woman. She definitely deserved to be happy.

"Maya, you are a fine soldier, and I wanted to apologize for how I treated you down there."

Maya accepted the handshake. "Thank you, Tomas. Don't worry about it. I enjoyed working with you."

He smiled nervously and nodded.

"Well, I'll see you around," Tomas announced to four of them and left.

...

After the four of them made it back to the building, they picked rooms and settled in for the evening. Jack was sitting alone on a stone bench outside watching the sun as it sank beneath the horizon. Maya spotted him and walked over to join him. He scooted over and she took a seat beside him.

"So how long do you think it will be before Thor gets here?" she asked him.

"No idea. In the past, it's taken months for him to respond to a call."

Maya just nodded and appeared to be deep in thought.

"How long are you planning to stay here with us? I know you didn't have a home before, but you're a hero now. You can do anything you want," Jack told her.

"A hero? No, I'm not."

"You are. You're the talk of the town. I have a feeling things are going to improve for women around here."

She hadn't really considered that before. She joined the resistance to try to change her lot in life, and it seemed that she had. She would get opportunities now. That women played a prominent role in the defeat of the invaders would definitely elevate their status in society. She really would take great satisfaction in ensuring that happened. And in showing the countless men that degraded her over the years what she had become. But there was something else that would give her even greater satisfaction.

"Jack, I'm coming with you back to Earth."

Jack snapped his head to look at her and opened and closed his mouth, eyebrows raised high.

"Maya, why would you want to do that?"

"You came here and saved our world. I want to help you save yours. I..."

"You don't know how much I appreciate that, but I can't let you do it. You can actually have a life here now."

"Maybe, but I don't care."

"Maya..."

"Jack, shut up and listen to me. The changes that are happening are a great thing, and I'm proud to have been a part of it. But you changed my life. You saved my life. I want to be there for you like you have been for me."

"Maya, don't take these changes lightly. I know it would mean the world to you to show everyone here what a woman is capable of. I can't..."

She'd had enough of his shit. She was grateful for Daniel's insight into Jack's psyche, and had to find a way to fight beyond his self reproach. She decided to interrupt him the only way she could think of. She grabbed his face in both of her hands and kissed him. It started off as a soft kiss, meant to tell him what he meant to her, but his shock, then his response, caused her to get swept away in the clashing of their tongues and the buzzing in her belly and the heady intoxication.

When they broke for air, she just stared at him awestruck. She had never been kissed like that before. Still, she needed to calm herself down. She wasn't trying to jump him tonight, just to get him to agree to take her along with him.

Jack, for his part, still looked stunned, and his eyes were dark with desire, but he took a few deep breaths to settle down before he made a fool of himself or frightened the poor woman.

Then Maya, as if realizing for the first time what had happened, flashed him a bashful smile. "Sorry about that."

"What? You definitely don't need to apologize for _that_."

She laughed softly. "Jack, yes, those things would mean a lot of me. But they don't mean _the world_ to me. You do. Look, I'm not trying to rush into a relationship with you right now. We still have a lot of work to do. But I am going back to Earth with you. It was not a request."

"Maya, you don't deserve that. Who knows how long it will take to drive them from Earth? It took almost a year here, and it could be much harder there. You are an incredible woman and could have anyone and anything you want."

"Can I? Great. That means you will finally stop arguing with me about this? Or do I have do it again?"

"Do what?"

She smiled seductively and then giggled at his deer-in-the-headlights expression.

"Jack, you really need learn when to shut your mouth."

"So I've been told," he grumbled.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"That's sweet of you," he quipped.

She chuckled and shook her head. "So are we clear?"

"Fine, you can come with us. But I'm not holding you to any of this."

"Do whatever you want."

He gave her a genuine smile, so rare on his face that it warmed her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, causing her to beam one back at him that could have illuminated the now dark sky. After their talk, they leaned back on the bench, Maya leaned into Jack who put his arm around her shoulders. They sat in silence for a few minutes before being swallowed up in a white light. The next thing they knew, they were sitting on the floor on Thor's ship.

"Buddy! Good of you to show up."

"Please accept my apologies, O'Neill. Daniel Jackson. Teal'c. Our battle with the replicators does not fare well."

Maya was still seated under Jack's arm gawking at Thor. This was Thor, the being that everyone on Anteria knew protected them. The one that appeared to them in the tunnels before bringing Jack to them. And he was apologizing to Jack, who was making snarky comments that suggested that Thor and the man she was in love with were old friends. Jack removed his arm, to her consternation, and rose to his feet.

"Sorry to hear that. I would offer to help, but we have a bit of a problem of our own right now."

"I do not detect the presence of the Aelvan vessel around this planet? Did it leave?"

"No, we blew it up."

Thor's huge black eyes got bigger, and Maya could swear he was surprised at the news.

"How did you accomplish this, O'Neill?"

"Well, we went up there, killed all of the guards, and tried to figure out how to work the ship, accidentally setting off the self destruct."

"I see."

"Thor, we need to get back to Earth. The Aelva are there."

"This is not good, O'Neill. How long have they been there?"

"Actually, they were there when you picked me up, and have probably been there for 16 months or so now."

"I did not detect them in orbit."

"Maybe the ship wasn't there then, but they were the race that didn't like my attitude."

Maya snorted, earning her a glare from Jack.

"They went by the name 'Helvecons' instead of 'Aelva', Thor. The names were used at different times in our history to refer to the same tribe of people," Daniel chimed in.

"I understand, Daniel Jackson. O'Neill, who is your companion?" Thor asked as he turned toward Maya.

"Thor, this is Maya Rincon. She fought with us down on Anteria and wants to come back to Earth with us."

"It is my honor. Anyone that befriends O'Neill is also a friend to myself."

Jack mock cringed, "It's 'Any friend of'...you know what? Close enough, buddy."

Thor reached out his hand and Maya reluctantly took it and returned the shake.

"Thank you, Thor," she squeaked.

"O'Neill, I recommend that you determine the place you wish to be delivered before we arrive. Aelvan ships are able to detect Asgard vessels, even when cloaked, after a short time."

"I guess just leave us where you picked me up, the cabin. We'll need to get Teal'c a hat and Maya some Earth clothes, and apparently I don't have a house in Colorado Springs anymore. I just hope my truck starts."

"Very well. Once I leave you, I will depart and bring back reinforcements."

"Yes, well, make it snappy."

"I am unfamiliar with this expression, O'Neill."

"Hurry up."


	19. Home

After a long drive back to Colorado Springs, it was late in the evening when the foursome pulled into the driveway in Jack's black pickup truck. When they arrived at the cabin the night before, everyone camped out for the night, and the next day Jack jumped the battery in his truck and drove them into town for supplies.

Teal'c was now donning his familiar black hat, and Maya traded in her tan rebel gear for a navy blue top and jeans that hugged her figure so exquisitely that Jack had trouble tearing his eyes away from her backside. Now ready, they set out to find out what was happening on Earth these days. Daniel suggested they visit Sam's house, but Jack didn't think running into her man was a particularly good idea at this point, so instead they visited another good friend.

A moment after knocking on the front door, it opened revealing a face that looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Close your mouth, Doc. You'll catch flies."

"Colonel!" Janet squeaked and threw her arms around him.

"Not that this isn't nice, but could we come in?"

Janet looked up and saw Daniel, Teal'c, and a woman she didn't know. She nodded and stepped aside, allowing them entrance where they all gathered in her living room.

"So, Doc, how's Cassie?"

Janet smiled at him fondly. "She's fine, sir. Starts college in the fall. She's missed you terribly."

"Janet, I'm retired. It's Jack. And I missed the munchkin too. Where is she?"

"She went out to a movie with friends. She should be back soon. What happened out there, Jack?"

He sighed before answering. "It's a long story, Doc. Thor beamed me and Teal'c away to help fight off an old enemy of theirs that was invading a planet that the Asgard were supposed to be protecting. Turns out that the enemy were the Helvecons, just by a different name, and the planet was the one that Earth has been over there assisting them."

"So it was Thor. Sam and I were wondering how you got there. You mean the Helvecons are enemies of the Asgard?" she gasped.

"Yeah. And us too. Where is Carter?"

"She's in the brig."

"What!?"

"Jack, if you walked into the SGC right now, you wouldn't recognize 90% of the people there. There was a mission ordering teams to bring you and Daniel back, dead or alive, and almost all of the them refused. Most of them were court martialed and are at Leavenworth, but some of them are still at the SGC, including Sam."

Jack looked shocked for a moment. Not necessarily at the orders to kill him, but that they were able to court martial most of the SGC. The military would normally scrutinize leadership when there was a widespread mutiny, not exclusively the soldiers, but apparently not in this case. That meant that the leadership was firmly involved in whatever was going on behind the scenes.

"Hammond gave the order?"

"No, he was retired when he refused to do it. He's at home in the Springs here."

"Who is there now?"

"Major General Thomas Ralph."

"Never heard of him. Are you still there?"

"Yeah. After I saw what happened, I've just been keeping my head down and doing my job as a doctor until I could find out what was going on."

Jack sat back on the couch and scrubbed his hand over his face.

"It's good to see you again, Janet," Daniel added, breaking Jack's stranglehold on the conversation.

"Indeed, Dr. Fraiser. You have been missed. Especially your ability to tolerate an ailing O'Neill."

Maya started giggling and Janet smiled while raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Janet. This is Maya. She's from the planet we just came from. She wanted to help us out," Jack added.

"Nice to meet you, Janet," Maya offered her hand, which Janet took in a quick shake.

"You too, Maya. Wait, what do you mean 'ailing'? What's wrong, Jack?"

"Oh no you don't, Doc. You aren't getting me in your clutches. I'm fine," he shot back, receiving a scowl from the good doctor.

"Janet, other than at the SGC, is anything else strange going on that would suggest the Helvecons are a threat to Earth?" Daniel asked this time.

"Not really, that's why this has been so confusing since we learned you guys were fighting with the rebels. They've built a bunch of Thatrium mines, and the government has been a bit heavy handed acquiring the land for them, but otherwise, everything seems to be going on as normal, at least outside the SGC."

"What about the weapons that Earth was supposed to get in trade for the Thatrium," Jack asked.

"Apparently the agreement was that the U.S. government would receive some of them and private defense contractors would also be permitted to trade services to the Helvecons in exchange for some defense technology."

"Services such as? Guarding their mines I suppose?" Jack mused out loud.

"I wouldn't know, sir."

"You mean they are letting private companies deal directly with the Aelva? How are they keeping a lid on this?"

"Apparently the big wigs had to sign nondisclosure agreements."

"I don't suppose the people farther down the food chain need to know where they got the weapons. Still, it's got to be a pretty exclusive group. I need to look into it. I don't feel good about this at all. We know that they are enemies of the Asgard, but our government doesn't care about that, only what they are doing here. But without proof of them doing anything to threaten Earth, it's going to be impossible to get any support for getting rid of them."

"What are you thinking, Jack?" Janet asked him.

"We need to dig around. I need some idea of what we're facing before we storm the SGC or Leavenworth. Who is locked up at the SGC anyway?"

"Sam, Feretti, Reynolds, Griff, a few others. There might be more, but that's all I've seen."

Jack stood up to pace around the room and think while the others caught up with one another. Not much later, he was leaning against the fireplace when the front door flew open and a frantic Cassie Fraiser ran inside with wide eyes searching the room. She spotted him and rushed at him, crushing him in her arms.

"Jack!" she screeched.

"Hey Cass, how've you been?" he asked, his voice muffled by her hair.

"Jack, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, munchkin, but I'm back now."

"How did you know I was here? Saw my truck outside?"

She nodded affirmatively against his chest, her arms still wrapped firmly around him.

Maya sat back watching the scene with Jack and Cassie with a soft smile on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Janet.

"He's always been great with Cassie. Since we rescued her when she was 11, he's been a father to her, and she adores him."

"I'm not surprised. Everything else about him just screams that he must be a great parent too."

"So, you and the Colonel?"

Maya blushed slightly. "You guys all know each other inside and out, don't you?"

Janet chuckled. "We do. And you didn't answer my question."

"It's complicated."

Now Janet laughed harder. "I'm sure it is. Everything about the man is complicated."

Maya snorted. "You've got that right."

While everyone else chatted away, Jack stepped outside to make a phone call. He picked up a new, untraceable phone on their way down to Colorado, and now he just hoped he remembered the number he needed.

"This is Burke."

"Burke, it's O'Neill."

"Jack? How the hell are ya?"

"Listen, Burke, I didn't call for small talk. I need a favor."

"You never did do small talk, did you, Jack? I suppose I owe you for getting me out of South America. What did you need?"

"I need a couple of wiretaps. One at the SGC, and one at the private residence of a Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter."

"The house will easy, but the SGC? What the hell is that?"

"Oh, right. You don't have clearance. Well, I guess you do now."

"Are you shittin' me?"

"Yeah, actually, I am. They'll lock my ass up for telling you, but I've got bigger things to worry about."

"If you say so, Jack."

"Great, you remember the old safe house in Denver from years ago? When can you meet me there?"

"Give me a couple days. I'll call when I'm close by."

"Thanks, Burke."

...

Danwig was aboard his ship in orbit, seated at the weapons console on the bridge. They've lost contact with the ship orbiting Anteria, and now they couldn't use the Stargate either. Chances were that the Asgard finally showed up. He wished he knew how the new ship fared in battle with them, but if several Asgard vessels attacked it, they didn't have much of a chance anyway.

Writing Anteria off as a lost cause, he was panicked at the thought of O'Neill telling them about Earth. Hopefully one of his people got to him before he had the opportunity, but he could take no chances. Their newly finished ship was immediately called to Earth to join the two others that were already here. He hoped that if the Asgard arrived, it would be enough to hold them off until they could finish more ships.

And to finish more ships, he needed more Thatrium. He'd had it up to here with the politicians dragging their feet, and decided to take matters into his own hands. His ship fired a volley into northern Montana, blasting the ground and destroying any plant and animal life (including humans) in a two mile radius. He immediately ordered the construction of a mine on that site, and transported back down to Earth.

He walked in the front door to Sam's house and heard the phone ringing.

"What?"

"Danwig? What the hell happened?"

"General Tompkins, I don't have any more time to wait for your bureaucratic nightmare of a government to get things done."

"That was you that blew up Montana!?"

"Yes. And if you don't want to see more, I suggest you get me some results."

"Just what in the hell are we going to tell people?"

"Don't be an idiot, General. Tell them it was comet. Tell them you were testing a weapon. Tell them whatever you want. It isn't my problem."

After a tortured sigh came through the phone. "I understand, Danwig. I will report back as soon as I can."

"You do that," Danwig spat and hung up.


	20. Break Out

Jack and the others have been staying with Janet over the past week since their return, since Jack no longer had a home in town. It was cramped, but they managed. Janet offered to try to get more information for them, but Jack warned her off, telling her to stay out of harm's way. There was nothing he could do but wait to hear from Burke before he could plan their next move. Then Jack startled when his phone started ringing, and speak of the devil.

"Burke, you have something for me?"

"Oh yeah I do. Jesus, Jack, you might be in over your head on this one."

"Tell me about it," he mumbled.

"I'll drop off what I've got in an hour."

"Thank you, Burke. I'll be here."

Exactly one hour later, Jack met Burke at the door and accepted the discs that contained the recorded conversations. Janet was working and Cassie was out for the day, so it was just the four of them in living room listening to several hours worth of phone calls, taking notes on what they had heard.

"Senator Wilcox. Senator Burnside. Representative Jones. General Tompkins is the Secretary of Defense for cryin' out loud. Even if we find our proof we probably won't get any help here," Jack complained.

"You'll figure something out, Jack. You were amazing on Anteria," Maya offered.

"On Anteria we had hundreds of people with us. Even if we can free most of the SGC officers, we still won't have enough manpower. There are already more Aelvan facilities here than there were on Anteria, and they are building more as we speak."

"Jack, they've started attacking from orbit. If we don't get rid of the ships, we don't even need to worry about their men on the ground," Daniel added.

"I know, Daniel. I just don't know how we're going to do that. The people we need are locked up, and there are three ships here instead of one. If everything isn't perfectly synced up, we won't get a second chance, and I don't even know if that's possible."

"What is our next course of action, O'Neill?"

"T, buddy, I guess the first thing we need to do is spring the prisoners. Then we'll try to find out how deep this rabbit hole goes. I know how to get into the SGC, so hopefully we can find enough people there. If not, I don't even want to know what we would have to do to get into Leavenworth."

"What's the plan, Jack?" Daniel asked him.

"Well, I can get us in, but I don't know how to get access to the holding cells without an access card, nor do I know what we are going to do about the cameras."

"I retrieved extra zat'nik'tels from Chulak on our voyage back to Earth, O'Neill. These would render the cameras ineffective."

"Yeah, but they'll still know that we're there," Daniel warned.

"They will, but at least if we zat the cameras, they won't know where we're going. Might be our best bet. I would like a better option."

At that, the front door opened and Janet walked in the door.

"Evening, Doc."

"Hi, guys. Find anything out?"

They filled her in on the attacks from orbit and the government officials involved, all in an attempt to extract enough more Thatrium.

"Janet, is there anyone other than you still there that we know and might possibly trust? Maybe a scientist that wouldn't have had the opportunity to disobey orders?"

"Well, Dr. Felgar and Dr. Coombs are still there. I'm actually surprised since Felgar still talks about you, and I thought he would have been too heartbroken to stay after you left. He practically worships..."

"That's great, Janet. Hopefully that means he'll help us out. Can you get a message to him when you go in tomorrow?"

"Sure. What are you planning, Jack?"

"I want to see if we can get him to shut down the cameras for a little while we go in and extract the prisoners."

"Seriously? Doesn't that seem a bit...impossible?"

"Actually, no, not if we can get help on the inside."

"Well, he would probably do anything you ask, so I'll talk to him."

"What about an access card that would get us into the holding rooms?"

"I don't know, all I can do is ask."

"Thank you, Janet. I guess we will just wait for his reply."

...

The next day, Janet took a note from Jack to work with her while Jack went hunting for a building they could hide in. If they managed to get the prisoners out of there, they would be fugitives like Jack and Daniel were, and they couldn't all stay at Janet's house. Maya offered to accompany him, so they started their walk through downtown Colorado Springs.

She noticed his focused expression, now familiar to her after seeing him in tactical mode so many times over the past year. She also noticed the tension in his body, the stress of their undertaking clearly getting to him. She wished she could say something to help him feel better, but nothing came to mind, so she grabbed his hand and squeezed it as they walked down the sidewalk. He looked over to her and gave her a small smile.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Me? I'm fine. You?"

"You know me."

She chuckled. "Right." He was always fine. He could have a knife sticking out of his back and would be fine.

They continued walking and mixing in some light hearted chit chat, traveling up and down each street without any success finding an abandoned building. Then they turned down an alley and at the end, saw a large fire damaged warehouse, the front side of it charred and crumbling.

"Welcome home, Maya," Jack offered with a smirk in response to the disgust on her face.

"I think the tunnels were better. In fact, I know they were."

"I know, but I don't know if we're going to find anything else. Let's check it out."

The interior of the building wasn't a bad as the front, and there were several offices that looked clean enough. The building wasn't in any danger of falling down. He figured that this was as good as it was going to get. He turned and looked at Maya who was holding up an empty wine bottle and a filthy sock in one of the offices.

"How romantic."

He grinned at her. "Yes, well, hopefully we won't be here too long."

On their way back they decided to stop for a cup of coffee. Maya picked a table and took a seat while Jack went to the front to place their order. After a few minutes a man holding his coffee approached her at the table. He was attractive and probably around her age, and she could see the interest in his eyes.

"Hi, do you mind if I join you?" he asked with a smile.

"Sorry, I'm here with someone," she answered politely.

His face fell slightly before he tried again.

"Okay. Maybe next time. When are you..."

"No, thank you," she nearly growled. At that moment, Jack returned with their drinks laughing, and the man scurried away. Jack handed Maya her coffee and took a seat.

"I'm guessing he won't bother you again."

"I hope not."

"You're a beautiful woman; I'm sure you get that a lot."

Her cheeks flushed slightly. She knew that he found her attractive, but he never said it to her before, at least not while lucid.

"Thank you, but that's not something I care to deal with all the time."

"I suppose. I wouldn't know."

"Don't be ridiculous, Jack. Half of the women here are ogling you."

He looked frightened at the thought, which brought a giggle from his companion.

They chatted comfortably and finished their coffees before heading back to Janet's house.

...

When Janet got home, she informed Jack that Felger sent her home with an access card he could use anywhere on the base, and that he would shut the cameras down at 2300 hours the following night.

"Anywhere on the base? Then I want to hit the armory too."

"Jack, is that wise?"

"Probably not, but nothing we are doing is wise, Daniel. We are going to need some explosives at some point. Besides, I want to arm the prisoners ASAP."

The four of them finalized the plan, and at 2200, everyone was ready to go.

"Okay, kids. We are going to have to walk. I can't fit everyone in my truck anyway, and if it gets spotted, we'll be given away."

The four of them were wearing all black for the night time hike up the mountain. It was just after 2300 when they reached the emergency exit to the facility, so Jack and Teal'c zatted away the Airmen guarding the entrance, disintegrating their bodies, before opening the lid and beginning their descent. They headed for the armory first, and when Jack cracked open the door, he peeked out to see the hallway empty except for one SF standing guard right in front of the armory door. Jack zatted him before he was even seen, and then the group entered and filled their bags with a few zats, some P-90s, pistols, ammo, and as much C4 as they could carry. As they were leaving the armory, two more SFs ran down the hallway towards them, but they were easily dispatched by Maya and Teal'c. They went back to the ladder and made their way down to level 16.

When they opened that door, there was a bit more commotion, almost certainly because they noticed the cameras were out by now. An SF spotted Jack and fired his sidearm, the bullet just whizzing past Jack's ear. He grunted and shot him three times with his zat.

"Alright gang, I'm heading down this hallway, so cover my ass. I'll be back."

They all nodded in acknowledgment, and Jack silently walked down the hall. When he reached the holding cells, he began opening the doors. He saw he was going to have to wake most of them from their sleep, so he stepped inside the first cell.

"Louis," he whispered.

He poked Feretti's arm while maintaining his distance. He knew all too well not to disturb a former black ops soldier while they're asleep. That didn't seem to work either, so he poked him again.

"Colonel Feretti," he tried to bark while still whispering.

Feretti opened his eyes.

"Jack? What the hell?"

"I'm here to spring you, Lou. At the end of the hall you can get a weapon and wait there."

"Got it, sir."

He continued releasing prisoners, even a couple that he didn't know, but so far he found Feretti, Dixon, Griff, and Reynolds, so that alone would help even the odds a bit against these damn Aelva. He got to the next cell and it's occupant wasn't sleeping, just seated on her cot staring ahead. He could imagine she must be going mad without any doohickeys to keep her mind working. She didn't even notice him open the door.

"What'cha doin', Carter?"

Her head snapped over to look at him, her blue eyes huge.

"Sir?" Her voice was weak and wobbly.

"Snap out of it, Carter. We've gotta move."

"Is it really you?"

"Yes, Sam, now let's..."

He was cut off by her lunging at him and crushing him in a bear hug. He indulged her for a moment before taking command again.

"Carter!"

She jumped back from him.

"Sorry, sir."

"It's okay, but we can't sit here all night. At the end of the hall you can grab a weapon."

She nodded and ran out the door. After he released the last of the imprisoned officers, he went to rendezvous with everyone when he heard gun fire. He ran down there, but apparently it was handled quickly, seeing three SFs prone on the floor and all of his people unharmed.

"Okay, kids. Follow me."

He led them back up the ladder to the emergency exit. When he opened the lid there were two new SFs guarding the area, so he disposed of them and their bodies, not wanting to risk giving away how they made their entrance in case they needed to come back. When they were out of danger back in the trees at the base of the mountain, Jack addressed them.

"Campers, I wouldn't recommend any of you go home anytime soon. They probably already know that you escaped and will be looking for you. Just come with me. I've got a place for us to go and quite a story for you."


	21. Catching Up

Sam was seated on the floor in what used to be a conference room in the abandoned warehouse the Colonel had found for them. She was joined by the rest of her old team, a woman she had never met, and twelve other SGC officers that were apparently also locked up in the brig. The room was illuminated by about a dozen flashlights, which did a surprisingly effective job.

She scanned the room and noticed this new woman and the Colonel talking. She was very pretty and also very obviously interested in him, leaning in and touching his arm as she spoke. He was smiling at her, a real smile that she saw so rarely she almost didn't recognize it. A jolt of jealousy shot through her before she shoved it down. It was just a conversation. And she wasn't jealous anyway. He was her commanding...err former comm...old friend. Changing topics now, her mind wandered to this whole situation they were in. She spent a lot of time trying to figure out who to trust, and it seemed she got her answer. Even after being imprisoned in the brig, she had seen Danwig regularly, which often led her to believe that maybe he was working to help her. Other than the brief encounter with the Colonel on P5G-292, she hadn't seen him in about a year and a half, and he was the one who rescued her. Again. She was ashamed of herself for ever doubting him.

She sighed and refocused her mind on finding out the whole story now. Colonel O'Neill was apparently going to fill them in; she just wished he would get on with it. Suddenly, as though she willed it, Jack rose to his feet.

"Alright, folks. I can see that Carter is holding back a torrent of questions. If she doesn't cover everything, I'll fill in the gaps. Carter?"

"How did you get to that planet, sir?"

"Thor took me there."

"But why?"

"An old enemy of the Asgard came out of hiding to invade and attempt to conquer Anteria. He didn't have the ships available to try to defend the planet, so he sent me and Teal'c over there to try to organize the resistance and hold them off until Thor could come back and save the day."

"Enemy of the Asgard? The Helvecons?"

"Yeah, well Thor knows them as the Aelva. They would conquer worlds and strip them of their natural resources before abandoning them, often killing or enslaving the indigenous peoples in the process. The Asgard fought with them for centuries to put a stop to it, but apparently they regrouped and are back now."

She looked sick to her stomach. The Colonel never liked them, and his gut was rarely ever wrong. She did like them and was going to marry one of them. For someone so smart, she was really an awful judge of character.

"Why you two?"

"He wanted you and Daniel too, but you were off world at the time."

"Did you know the Aelva and Helvecons were the same when he took you?"

"No. I was drunk as a skunk when Thor beamed me up, and he spared me the history lesson. And apparently their ships weren't in orbit around Earth at the time either. I didn't know they were one and the same until the battle where I got blown up with the grenade."

She turned green at his comment.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, Carter. You didn't know I was there."

"Why are you back here now, sir?"

"Because we freed the Anterians and now intend to free Earth."

"But they haven't conquered Earth, at least not yet. What have they done?"

"They are pressuring Congress and the president's cabinet to try to take more and more land for their mines, asking for as much as 50% of all land in the continental U.S. Also, they have started firing at the surface from their ships to clear areas for new mines without concern for damage and casualties."

"What!? But would we have heard about something like that?"

"They've been isolated strikes at the moment, and the government is reporting that it was a cluster of small meteorites."

"They haven't hit any population centers yet, have they?

"Not yet. That is what they are holding over the president's head. They don't want to kill us all or there won't be anyone to work the mines. They want our cooperation. But if they don't get it, I have no doubt they'll start a full on assault from space."

She looked like she had the wind knocked out of her.

"What are we going to do?"

"For now, what you're going to do is help me find out who is involved in this. I want to know who owns these mining companies and the defense contractors that are dealing with the Aelva. I want every bit of information you can get and to tie as many people as we can to this."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have what you would need to do that? Without going to your house or lab to get anything?"

"Yes, sir. I can use any computer with an internet connection."

"Good, you can get started on that tomorrow. Carter, do you know how many transporters they have on Earth?"

"Three that I'm aware of. One in Washington, one at the SGC, one in Brussels."

"Do you know the codes to get to the ships?"

"I know both of them, sir."

"Both? They have three ships here now."

"Oh, well I don't know that one. I've been out of the loop lately. Sir, Thor is coming back to help us, right?"

"He is Carter, but you know them. Who knows how long it will be before they can get here? Not to mention, he didn't sound too confident of their ability to defeat these guys. We need to operate assuming we're on our own. I think that about covers everything for now. It's good seeing all you of guys and gals again. Take a load off while I come up with the next step," he announced to the room before leaving.

...

It was after midnight when Jack was sitting on metal folding chair on the roof of their building. He was just looking up at the night sky, his mind working overtime. He had already done enough fretting over their mission and knew he needed to take his mind off of it before he burned himself out and was unable to think on the fly when it was needed.

That meant his thoughts inevitably wandered to more personal topics, two women in particular. A lot occurred to him to while he was talking to Carter downstairs earlier. He missed her a great deal over the past year and a half. No matter what else they went through, he would always love her and did genuinely enjoy seeing her again. That surprised him, expecting that he would still feel bitter and heartbroken knowing that she was engaged to someone else. It also confused him. Why wasn't he still bitter about it? Did he finally get over her? He wished for so long that he could, but he never figured out how to do it. It seemed that he did though, and that brought him endless relief.

Then Maya pushed her way into the forefront of his mind. True to her word, she wanted to be there with him, fighting a war that wasn't hers to fight. She didn't seem to be unhappy. He thought back to their kiss back on Anteria briefly. God, it was hot, and sometimes he kicked himself for not pushing her on it. Apparently she was interested in him, but he couldn't burden her with his baggage. He still didn't know at the time how he would feel about seeing Carter again, and he absolutely would not hurt her by getting involved with her while he still had feelings for someone else. Besides, it wasn't like he could romance her in a burned down warehouse with garbage from the hobos lying around and rats scurrying all over the adjacent rooms. He didn't really have a choice but to leave it like this for the time being, but he hoped he didn't regret it. She was going to attract attention from men anywhere that she went, and she could do a hell of a lot better than him. He shocked himself when his heart twinged at the sight of the younger man hitting on her at the coffee shop, and then the rush of relief when she blew him off. He could ask her to wait, but he wouldn't do that to her. No one knew how long this was going to take, and she was her own person and could make her own decisions. If she wanted to wait, he would be thrilled. If not, if she wanted something with someone that didn't have to hide in a filthy old warehouse and actually had a bed she could sleep in, he would deal. It's not like he didn't have experience with that sort of thing.

His musings were interrupted by footsteps coming across the roof towards him, which he recognized from years in the field.

"What's up, Danny boy?"

"Hey, Jack. Just wanted to see where you ran off to. You alright?"

"Yep. Peachy, Daniel."

"Jack?"

"Relax, I'm fine. You don't need to babysit me."

Daniel chuckled. "I'm not babysitting you. How was it seeing Sam again?"

"It was good."

"Jaaaack."

"What, Daniel? It was fine. I missed her. It was good to see her again when I wasn't chained to a bed with my kidney bleeding out."

"You missed her?" he asked in amazement.

Jack groaned before responding. "Yes, Daniel. I missed her. Are you happy now?"

"Are you?"

That stopped Jack cold. No, he wasn't happy now. There was too much up in the air. But the future? It didn't seem so bleak anymore.

"Not right now. I think I can be though."

That put a smile on Daniel's face as he nodded, looking like he knew exactly what Jack was thinking. He slapped Jack once on the back.

"Good, Jack. That's good."


	22. Trust

Jack had come to a decision while Daniel, Carter, and Captain Hailey were off digging for information. He didn't have access to hundreds of other rebels here, so there was no way they were going to be able to deal with the Aelvan presence on the ground without the government backing them. Once he found out everyone that was working with the enemy, he would have to find a way to clean house in Washington. Then the military could handle the threat on the ground after Jack and his people took care of the ships.

That meant that he would have to find people he could trust in the government to work with him while he sorted out the details. So far, it didn't look like President Hayes was directly involved with Aelvans. He was elected after the previous administration came to terms on the treaty, and he obviously had the threat of their ships backing their demands, but Jack thought he might be able to be reasoned with, provided his name didn't come up in their investigation. He remembered that Hammond spoke highly of the man, so he hoped that was well founded.

He heard a noise to his left and looked to see Sam and company return, hoping they had some news.

"What'cha got for me, kids?"

"Not much, sir. We got the names of the companies that you were looking for, but most information about their ownership, even stuff that is usually public record, is gone. I know where to continue looking, but I will need my laptop. I have software on it that will allow me to get past their security measures."

"And where is your laptop?"

"At home, sir."

"That's just great. Okay, I guess we'll have to go get it. When does Darwin usually get home?"

She paused a moment, looking a little irritated and then embarrassed.

"It depends, sir. There is no set time."

"Let me make a quick phone call and figure this out."

She nodded.

Jack grabbed his phone and dialed, still in the room with the others.

"Dr. Fraiser."

"Hey, Doc."

"Jack, what's up?"

"I won't be long. I wanted to ask you if you knew if Carter's man was in the mountain right now."

"Actually, Danwig was just down here. I heard him complaining about having to go to Washington today. Why?"

"Just wanted to know where he was. I gotta run. Thanks, Janet."

"Bye, Jack."

"Alright, Carter, we have to go now. I'll come with you."

"Sir, that isn't necessary."

"Carter, as long as we are outlaws, we will treat this as though we were off world, which means we don't go off by ourselves."

"Fine, I'm ready."

They walked out the door and began the half hour trip to her house. While they were walking, Sam spoke up.

"Sir, I wanted to thank you for getting me out of that cell. It was hell in there, and I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it, Carter. You know I wouldn't leave you there. Besides, we need you on this."

"I don't know why you trust me to do this. I attacked you, injured you in a battle on the other side of this war. I'm...with the commander of their forces on Earth. Why do you trust me?"

"Because I know you, Carter. You didn't know Teal'c and I were there when you threw the grenade. Even back when all of this started, and I was forced out of the SGC, you did the right thing. You continued to follow your orders. I had no proof of what was going on. I didn't like the bastards, but I had no idea they were doing this. I knew that as soon as you found out you would be back on our side again."

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot that you trust me like that. I just don't deserve it."

"Sam, don't be ridiculous. I highly doubt your fiancée ever told you or even hinted to you what they were doing."

"No."

"Okay. Just calm down, Carter. We'll get them out of here and everything will be fine again."

"Alright, sir."

They continued walking and Jack noticed that Sam still had the same contemplative look on her face. Oh well. He did all he could do. Hopefully she got her head out of her ass before trouble showed up. They arrived at her street, but instead of going right to the house, Jack had them walk around the next block to check for anyone that might watching for her. When he didn't see anyone suspicious, they walked in her front door. The place was a mess with clothes and papers and take out containers strewn about, but then again there had been an evil alien man living there by himself for a few months. There was a pair of black panties lying on the floor behind the couch, and Jack really didn't want to know what he was doing with those. One look at Sam gave him a clue though, as fury flashed in her eyes before she closed them off again. He guessed they weren't hers then.

"Alright, Carter. You can clean up later; just get what you need. We can't hang around here long."

"Yes, sir," she mumbled.

Jack stood in her living room waiting for her when he saw some papers on her coffee table. They were in the Aelvan language. He didn't know what they said, but he wanted to take them anyway. He grabbed the stack and knocked on Sam's bedroom door.

"Carter, you have a copy machine here, right?"

"Yes, in the guest room. Why?"

"I want to copy these papers I found."

"Why don't you just take them with us?"

"Because I don't want them to know that we have them."

"Oh, okay. Well go ahead."

"Be right back."

Jack ran into the guest room and copied the papers before setting them back on the table. By the time he was done, Sam had a bag packed and was ready to leave. Jack looked out the front window and saw a black sedan parked right out front.

"Shit! We have company, Carter. We'll have to try to go out the back."

Before they opened the back door, Jack peeked out the window on her back deck and saw a shadow of someone waiting for them. He went to her kitchen window and it looked like that side was clear. He cracked open the back door, reach out with his zat, and fired in the direction of the shadow he saw. When he heard a body collapse to the deck, he sneaked out a little farther, disintegrated the body, and saw that the coast was clear.

"Let's go. We'll hop the fence in the back."

They walked out the door and headed toward the wooden fence in the back of her yard. When they were half way there, Jack spoke again.

"You make a run for it. I'll cover you from here. Go!"

She did as ordered and jumped over the fence while Jack was backpedaling. He was about to turn and run for it himself when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He heard a gun shot, and a bullet ripped into his thigh, bringing a curse from his lips. He started showering the area around her driveway with zat fire until he saw an Air Force officer fall to the ground. He fired his zat a couple more times to eliminate the body and got the hell out of there.

When he landed on the other side of the fence, the adrenaline began to wear off and he started limping badly.

"Sir, you're hit!"

"I know, Carter. Nothing we can do about it now."

"Let me look at it."

"When we get away from here. I'm sure those two weren't the only ones looking for us."

"Fine, sir," she growled.

They made their way to a wooded park not far away with Jack hobbling the entire way. When they were deep enough in the trees, Sam cleaned and dressed his wound.

"We need to take you somewhere. That bullet has to come out."

"I know, Carter. Janet doesn't live far from here, let's see if she can help after she gets home."

"Okay, sir."

They finally made it to Janet's house and Cassie answered the door.

"Jack! Sam! Jack, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, pumpkin. I just need your mom to take a look at my leg when she gets home."

"Okay, well, she should be home soon."

She led them inside and Jack flopped down on the couch, grateful to take his weight off of the leg.

...

Jack called over to let everyone know that he and Sam were at Janet's house because he got shot. He told Teal'c to take command until he got back and had him reassure everyone that he was fine. Maya's heart was in her throat until Teal'c told her he was hit in the leg and was going to be okay. She sat there in her room pondering the last couple of days. She finally met the woman Daniel told her Jack was in love with. She could see it, Sam was beautiful, moreso than she herself was, in Maya's opinion. She had been watching for any signs of Jack's feelings after being reunited with Sam, so she was focusing on their eyes whenever she saw them together. She had learned how to read people's eyes long ago, and it probably kept her alive when she was leading her reckless life on Anteria. Since meeting Jack, a master of using his eyes for deceit and communication, she figured she could read anyone now.

Starting with Sam, she could read her like a book. She could see her feelings for Jack in her eyes, but also her struggle to deny that they existed. There were lots of emotions passing through her eyes last night when they caught up in the conference room, concern, guilt, curiosity, and also her own blank mask. But the main thing she noticed was her denial. What a stupid woman. She hurt that wonderful man badly because of her own stubbornness and idiocy. Still, she hoped that Sam would keep it up, because she didn't care to think about what would happen if she made a move on Jack.

When watching Jack, she wasn't nearly as certain of what she saw. Various emotions ran through his eyes too. That pain wasn't one of them was a good sign. But there was also friendliness, surprise, confusion and even joy. She didn't know what to make of it. They had known each other for a long time and went through a lot together, so if he could be happy to see her without being hurt, then that was probably a good thing, but what was he confused about? She probably wouldn't know unless she asked him, and actually managed to get him to answer.

She noticed a flashlight in the hallway outside of her open door and saw Daniel appear.

"Hi, Maya. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I'm still up. Did you need something?"

"No, I couldn't sleep either, so I was going to walk around outside for a bit."

"If you want some company, I'll join you."

"Sure, let's go."

Maya followed him up to the roof of the building and they walked in silence for a moment while she decided if she should talk to Daniel about her thoughts. She just didn't want him to blab them to Jack, which she knew was a strong possibility.

"Something on your mind, Maya?"

"Yeah, I guess. Can I ask that you don't tell anyone though."

"Okay, sure."

"I was just wondering what you were thinking about Jack seeing Sam again."

"What I was thinking? Well, they've been close friends for a long time, and he was happy to see her again. It had been a while."

"I know, but I know you said he was in love with her not too long ago."

"Ah. Maya, it's hard to tell anything for sure with him, but I don't think you need to worry."

"How do you know?"

"I talked to him last night, half expecting him to be drunk and miserable. He wasn't."

"It's that simple?"

"With him? Yeah, it is. The reason he tries so hard to hide and even deny his emotions is that he feels them so deeply. If he was still hurting because of her, we would know, even though he would never want us to know. He definitely wasn't hurting. Almost the opposite, and I don't think that had much to do with Sam."

She blushed a bit at his knowing glance and smiled. "Thank you, Daniel."

...

Late that evening, Cassie had gone up to her bedroom, and Jack was unconscious in the guest room, knocked out by the painkillers Janet forced down his throat after removing the bullet from his thigh. Meanwhile, Janet and Sam were catching up in the kitchen over a glass of wine.

"God am I an idiot, Janet."

She raised an eyebrow at Sam in surprise.

"About what, Sam?"

"About the Helvecons, Aelva, whatever their real name is."

"Sam, you said the Colonel doesn't blame you, and I believe him, because you wouldn't be here if he did."

"I know, but he knew all along. Or at least suspected. He wanted to look into the rebels on our first mission for them for cryin' out loud."

This time Janet raised both eyebrows.

"I know, but he had no evidence. He didn't even have specific concerns. It was completely based on his gut. Now, his gut is usually right, but he wouldn't expect everyone to throw away their careers and follow him based on that with nothing else."

"I guess."

"Is that what is all about?"

"It's about Danwig, too. God, Janet, I was going to marry him! And now he's bombing the Earth's surface from space! Not to mention I found some other woman's panties in my house this afternoon."

"Oh, Sam, honey, I'm sorry."

"Every relationship I've ever been in has been a nightmare. Why do I always pick the wrong man?"

"I see. Sam, if you had picked the right man, it would have shocked us all."

Sam snapped a glare at Janet who didn't back down.

"But they all aren't this bad. Every bad one helps you to realize when you find a good one."

"What about the _right_ one?"

Janet didn't know how to answer that. Sam had lost the _right_ one, and Janet didn't think either Sam or Jack would appreciate her pushing Sam in his direction at this point. It certainly never worked before.

"Baby steps, Sam."

Janet smiled and Sam let out a rueful chuckle. Well, it was better than the trance she'd been in all night.


	23. Build Up

The next morning, Jack called Hailey and Reynolds over and sent them off with Sam and her laptop to see what they could find out. They only went up the street to a restaurant to use the internet connection, not wanting to do anything that could be traced back to Janet, so they shouldn't be gone too long. Meanwhile, he was stuck in bed under orders from the Doc, which did not make Jack a happy camper. Even worse, she sicked Cassie on him to make sure he behaved, knowing he could never refuse her for long. Thankfully, she finally grew tired of watching him and left the room, giving him an opportunity. He sat up and leaned over to grab his boots, and as he slipped his foot inside, he was interrupted.

"Jack, what are you doing?"

"Um...nothing, pumpkin."

"Jack?" she threw a glare at him that looked way too much like her mother's.

"For cryin' out loud! Don't you have anything better to do than babysit me?"

"No, I don't. Mom told me, and you, that at least for today, you are to stay off the leg."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her, Cass."

"What makes you think she won't know?" she asked sweetly.

"Okay, how much for you to keep your mouth shut?"

"Sorry, Jack. Not this time. I agree with her."

"But Cassie, I'm fine!" he whined.

"Jack!"

"Alright," he grumbled in resignation.

Then he heard a familiar burst of giggles outside of the open window in the room and moments later a knock on the door. Cassie ran downstairs to get the door, but was back just as quickly. Entering behind her were Daniel, with a smirk on his face, and Maya beaming a smile at him.

"So kids, what brings you to the Fraiser Family Torture Chamber?"

Cassie giggled and Maya snickered.

"That was amazing, Cassie. I wish we had you there the last time he was hurt. I was ready to shove a sock in his mouth," Maya told her.

"I'm not surprised. My mom said several nurses have quit over the years after dealing with him."

"Hey!" Jack objected, but the ladies ignored him.

"How do you do it?"

"I know where my mother keeps her big needles," she answered with a smile and a warning glare at Jack.

"To be fair, it's also because you have him wrapped around your little finger," Daniel added.

"Okay, why are you all here exactly? To give me hell?" Jack complained.

"No, we just wanted to see how you were doing," Maya answered him with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Well I'm fine," he groused, bringing more laughter from the three of them.

The four of them sat around and talked for a little while, and Jack told Daniel to translate those papers he found at Sam's house, so he got started on that. A short while later, Sam and the others returned and everyone gathered in the guest room upstairs, standing around the bed. When Cassie was assured that they wouldn't let Jack escape, she took a break and left so they could talk.

"Got anything, Carter?"

"Quite a bit, sir. It seems there are at least 40 Congressmen with ownership stakes in the mining companies and defense contractors, not to mention several of the president's cabinet as well."

"Well, that's a lot, but it's not enough to explain everything. 40 Congressmen can't get anything done by themselves. Do you have a list of everyone, not just government officials?"

"I do. Here, take a look," Sam replied while handing him the laptop. After reading for a few minutes, Jack had something.

"Now, this makes a bit more sense. Fred Straub, Terry Dickenson, John McDonald. They are big time donors to the political parties and campaigns. And not just one party, both sides of the aisle are represented here. It makes sense that they would want to support the guys that will keep their gravy train going."

"Sir? I didn't know you were into politics," Sam commented.

"Well, you never asked. And I'm not an idiot, Carter. I am capable of having interests other than The Simpsons and beer."

"Really, sir? We never would have guessed," she teased him.

"Yes, well, It's not like I'm hardcore about it or anything, I just try to pay attention to what's going on."

"Right," she smiled at him.

"Anyway, even though now we know more about what's happening, it's really not good news. This kind of back room dealing has gone on in politics since the ancient Greeks. We would never be able to clean all of this up. The one good thing you found is that I don't see anything here that would connect Hayes to any of this. I'm going to need to talk to him."

"Um, Jack, how are you going to talk to the President? If you got caught anywhere near the White House you would be turned right over to the Aelva."

"Well, Danny boy, I just can't get caught then. Actually, I think I might know of just the guy to help."

"Who, sir?" Sam butted in.

"Hammond. He's known Hayes for years. I remember he once told me that he liked the guy. Maybe he can get me an audience. Daniel, did you figure out what those papers say?"

"Not too much yet. They're pretty much just memos. I'll be done with them soon."

"Good, let's work on that then. Carter, give me a hand here." Jack reached out his hand, hoping they would forget about his predicament and help him out of bed.

"Uh, sir," Sam answered uncomfortably.

"Fine, Maya?"

"Jack, I'll go get Cassie again if you try anything," she replied with a smirk, her eyes seemingly dancing with mirth.

"Traitor," he growled yet still found it incredibly difficult to rip his gaze from hers. He swore those eyes would be the death of him.

...

Jack spent the next couple of days with Janet and Cassie recuperating, seeing most of the others at some point or another when they would drop by to check on him. Daniel had finished translating the papers, and one of the memos was updated transporters codes for the ships. Ironically enough, they changed the codes after the prisoners escaped. There was also some information on potential mine targets, but there was nothing they could do about that yet. He needed to make sure the military was going to deal with the Aelva on the ground before they took out the ships. If he didn't, there was the possibly of retaliation or even an all out ground war by the Aelva and maybe even the private defense contractors in their pocket. The last thing he wanted to do was jump the gun and get a bunch of civilians killed.

Now, at least able to walk on crutches, with Janet's permission, Jack changed the license plates on his truck again and hopped in, backed out of Janet's garage, and headed for Hammond's house. When he knocked, a young girl answered the door.

"Hi, Jack!"

"Kayla, sweetie, should you be answering the door? Is your mom or grandpa here?"

Suddenly he heard someone shouting behind the girl.

"Kayla! Get away from the door! Jack! What the hell?"

He gave his former CO a small smile. "It's a long story, sir."

Hammond chuckled. "I'm sure it is, come in, son."

Jack hobbled into the house and hugged Tessa and Kayla before joining Hammond on the couch.

"What's going on, Jack?"

He filled Hammond in on everything that had happened up to that point.

"I hate to drag you into this, George, but I need to talk to the President, and I don't know who else might be able to set that up."

"It's okay. I assume you don't want to meet him in the White House though."

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Let me call him and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sir."

They sat there talking for a little while before Jack left. He decided to drive his truck back to the warehouse and park it inside, hiding it from view from the outside.

...

The president had a speaking engagement in Denver a week after Jack's visit with Hammond, so that was where the meeting took place. Hayes claimed to have no part in any financial gain from the invaders, and vowed that if Jack could get rid of the ships, as Commander-in-Chief, he would have the military behind him to deal with the Aelva on the ground. Jack also offered their evidence on the 40 Congressmen that were financially tied to Aelvan interests, and Hayes said there would be an investigation, but he didn't think it likely that much could be done about it. Even the phone conversations that proved blatant treason were worthless because they would never be admissible in court.

Regardless, even if there wasn't much hope of cleaning up the rotten parts of Washington, their first priority hadn't changed, ridding themselves of the Aelva. That the ground forces wouldn't be an issue was a relief, but they still had a hell of a task on their hands. Boarding and taking three Aelvan ships would be difficult enough. Taking the SGC to use their transporter would be even harder. The good news was that this whole situation shouldn't last much longer. The bad news being that there was little chance of getting through this unscathed.

After the meeting with the president, Jack was planning to head back to their hideout, but a phone call changed those plans.

"O'Neill."

"Jack."

"Burke, what's up?"

"Trouble, Jack. Big trouble."

"Meet me at Janet's again with the tapes."

"Got it. Be there in 30."

So Jack rushed back to Janet's house and waited for Burke. He took the discs inside and heard what had freaked Burke out. Not pleased with their progress, Danwig warned them that a major city on the east coast was about to be hit by a "meteorite". He gave the government 48 hours to improve on their land offer.

Well, now they were out of time, so he immediately headed back to the warehouse to finalize their plan. He assembled everyone in the conference room and got started.

"Alright, folks. We're going to be split up into three teams. Reynolds, since all of SG-3 is here, you take them, along with Feretti and Hailey. I'll take Carter, Daniel, Teal'c, and Maya. Dixon, you get everyone else.

"We'll get into the SGC the same way we did when we busted you out of there. The transporter is on level 10, and we will have to hold the area while we get everything prepared and sent up to the ships. We have to do all three in one go, otherwise they'll be ready if we try again."

"Jack, what about the turrets? We only have one staff weapon," Maya asked.

"Have to use grenades. Hopefully they'll work."

He went over the layout of the ship that they defeated on Anteria with everyone, trying to prepare them as much as possible. Then Jack called Janet to see if they could get Felgar's help again, and he came through. The next night, just hours before Danwig's deadline, they would move out.


	24. Denouement

The next afternoon, Jack was seated on the floor in his assigned room in the warehouse. He was leaned back against the wall, the sunlight that beamed through the window heating his skin, and his mind was in a whirlwind. First because of the mission itself. When they took the one Aelvan ship on Anteria, they had 15 people to do it. Now he would have a third as many, and they had to take three ships. If any of them failed, the remaining ship could reinforce the others, practically ending their chance to take out any of them. Everything had to work out almost perfectly.

Then his stomach churned at the thought of having to take the SGC. They would use as many zats as they had to try and stun rather than kill, but he had already been forced to kill a few Air Force personnel, and it ate away at him. They were just following orders and had nothing to do with the Aelva or the corrupt government officials. If there was any other way, he would have spared them, but he couldn't see one. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were about to be killed, and they were standing in the way. Knowing that didn't ease his heartache though.

Maya walked up to his doorway and just watched him for a moment. Apparently his thoughts were written on his face somewhere, because she turned a concerned gaze to him and sat next to him on the floor.

"You okay?" she asked him.

"I'm fine, Maya."

She gave him a look that said he was full of shit, but she didn't say anything. That kind of surprised him. He thought she would be trying to pry him open and get him to talk like everyone else does. Instead she sat there in silence with him for a few minutes before speaking again.

"I know you don't want to have to kill your own people. I know that you have to do it anyway because thousands of lives depend on it. I know that doesn't make it easier. And I know that as awful as it feels, you'll move past it and live with it. Believe me, I know," she said softly as she took his hand in hers.

He looked at her with haunted eyes and remembered that she did in fact know. Maybe not on this scale, but much more personally. He just nodded to her and they sat hand in hand for a short while.

"Thank you, Maya. Just give me a few more minutes and I'll be my charming, effervescent self again."

She snorted and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. Then she rose to her feet and left the room, leaving his heart feeling a little lighter than before her visit, as though she took some of the burden from him.

...

Entering the SGC was about as uneventful as the last time, simply zatting away two Airmen that were guarding the emergency exit. When they all made it down the ladder to level 10, Jack opened the door and zatted the one SF that was standing guard just outside the transporter room. Other than that, the halls were empty, which set off alarm bells ringing in Jack's head.

"Where the hell is everyone?"

"I am unaware, O'Neill."

"There's no way they wouldn't have more than one guy guarding this floor."

"They don't have cameras, sir. They don't know where we are," Sam added.

"No, but I'm sure they know we're here somewhere, and this would be the one place they would want to keep us away from. This smells like a trap from a mile away."

"What do you want to do?" Maya asked him.

Jack stood completely still, startling the others while running through the possibilities in his head. He was riddled with worry about their task before they even left the warehouse, but now the knot was growing and twisting in his gut. He knew they were walking into a trap, but really, what choice did they have?

"We have no choice but to move forward. In another couple of hours, they're going to kill hundreds of thousands of people from those ships. Teams, when you get on board, make sure you watch your backs. If you can't clear the ship, then at least get to bridge and set the self destruct. We can not leave these ships in orbit."

"Yes, sir," the crowd responded.

Dixon's team went first, setting up their C4 on a timer and sending it up to the ship, then following shortly after. Next went Reynolds' team, and finally Jack's team.

...

Jack's team beamed up into the empty transporter room and found cover quickly.

"We have to get out of here in a hurry before they start beaming in behind us. Let's go," Jack ordered.

Jack pulled his pistol and, took his place beside the closed double doors, with Sam opposite him on the other side. Then the doors slid open, revealing three guards outside waiting for them. He looked into Sam's eyes, giving her her orders, and they each took out one of the guards. The one in the middle began spraying energy weapon fire into the open doorway, pinning them down, but also giving away his exact position, so when the shooting stopped, Jack rolled into the doorway and, knowing where he was, immediately fired two shots into his heart.

The group crept out of the room to the next hallway and were immediately confronted with a turret. Just what they needed. This ship was apparently much more heavily guarded the one they took on Anteria. Teal'c fired his staff weapon, disposing of the turret, but two more guards appeared and began showering them with fire. After trading shots for a few minutes, the guards were finally taken down.

"This is taking too long. Daniel, Teal'c, Maya, you watch our six. Don't worry about what's in front of us. Carter and I will handle that."

They acknowledged with a nod and turned to face behind the group just as a bright light flashed from the transporter room. Sure enough, after a moment, more guards came up from behind them. Fortunately for the team, the guards were expecting to take them by surprise, so they were cut down immediately when they appeared around the corner.

It was a brutal fight to clear every room, and Jack saw immediately why that was the case. Some of these people weren't Aelvan guards; a few were SGC Air Force personnel. Bile burned the back of his throat, but it wasn't possible to do this any other way. Right now, they had to save civilian lives. He just buried his actions for the moment, knowing that he would suffer for their deaths again later on.

When they finally reach the main hallway where they knew another turret awaited them, much of their ammo was already gone, but there was nowhere to go but forward, especially now that there were even more of the enemy behind them than there were in front of them. Jack pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it down the hallway, hoping to take out the turret and anyone else down there with it. When it exploded, he heard a scream, but when he looked around the corner, the turret began spitting fire at him. Luckily, he ducked back in time before getting hit this time.

"Teal'c, the turret."

After blasting the turret with his staff, they continued their grueling march to the bridge. An energy weapon grazed Teal'c on his arm, but he shrugged it off and continued fighting. An enemy had to die for every step they won. When they finally reach the doors to the bridge, Jack stopped them.

"Okay, every go back that way and keep our asses covered. I'm going to plant my C4 on the doors and then join you."

Jack placed a block on each door and ran back to the rest of the group. It was finally quiet behind them, for the first time giving him some hope that they would get out of this. He pulled the trigger on the detonator and didn't even flinch at the explosion.

"One more room to go. Let's go, kids."

Daniel, Teal'c, and Maya followed in the back, still covering their sixes, while Jack and Sam crept up to the now open door to the bridge. They couldn't see the whole room, but they did see one Aelvan officer near the terminal in the front, crouching behind one of the seats. Sam ran across the open doorway to the other side to get a better angle, but her shot missed. She took a step inside the room and fired again, taking the man down, and at the same time infuriating Jack for breaking cover. As he was about to let her have it, he looked to his right and saw Danwig step out from behind a steel cabinet. Sam looked him in the eyes and froze in place, reminiscent of the last time she faced off with a former fiancee all of those years ago. When Danwig drew his weapon, Jack ran toward her.

"Damn it, Carter!" he snapped as he extended his arms and shoved her out of the way, taking the energy blast that was meant for her directly in the center of his chest, his limp body crashing to the floor.

Danwig grinned at Sam with a wicked smile on his face.

"Looks like I finally got O'Neill. And now..."

A single gunshot echoed through the room, and a bullet zipped through the air and penetrated Danwig's skull right between his eyes. His head flopped back, and he collapsed to the floor.

Maya, still holding her pistol, now fully entered the room and checked once more that it was clear before rushing to Jack's side, rolling him on his back.

"Jack, please stay with me," she pleaded, but she knew this was bad. Really bad. He was barely alive, eyelids drooping, his breathing coming in short, sharp bursts.

Next, they heard gunfire again outside in the hallway. Daniel ran into the room and saw Jack on the floor.

"Jack!?"

He stared down at the motionless man, moisture gathering in his eyes..

"More?" Jack rasped.

"Yeah, more of them came from the transporter. They just keep coming," Daniel answered grimly.

"Self destruct," he choked out.

Daniel nodded. They didn't have enough ammo or people to hold the ship against endless reinforcements, and they all knew that if they couldn't hold it, they had to destroy it, even if it destroyed themselves along with it. Daniel ran to the front, entered a couple of incorrect passwords into the console, and the countdown began. Then he heard Teal'c begin shooting again and ran out the door to join him. Sam was still seated on the floor in shock with big blue eyes filled to the brim and fixed on Jack's prone body. Maya held Jack's hand and looked down at him, locking eyes with his, tears rolling down her cheeks. Suddenly, the shooting outside stopped.

"Go," Jack managed in a rough whisper to Maya, bringing her back to the firefight on Anteria.

"No, Jack. Not again. Never again," she whispered in reply, her tears now dripping onto his face when she leaned over to hear him.

 _Ten seconds to self destruct._

"Ma..." he gasped but she cut him off, placing her index finger over his mouth. He didn't have any idea of where the countdown was, he just wanted her to go and be safe, but she wasn't going anywhere.

 _Five seconds to self destruct._

She gave him a warm, watery smile, leaned down, and softly pressed her lips to his.

 _Two._

 _One._


	25. Changes

When Maya opened her eyes, Jack's body was gone, and she was on her knees on Thor's ship. She looked around frantically only to find the rest of Jack's team and Thor standing there.

"Thor, where is Jack?" she cried out.

"O'Neill is in a healing pod. He was very near death, so it will take some time to repair him."

"Repair him? You can heal him!?"

"Indeed, we are able to do so."

She leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor, sitting with her face buried in her hands, and her shoulders began shaking as she wept silently. Daniel walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, but got no response. Then he turned and walked toward Thor.

"Thor, what's going on with the ships? Where are the other teams?"

"I did not detect any more life signs of your people on any of the Aelvan ships before their destruction."

"God, I hope they got out. All of them were destroyed?"

"They were, Daniel Jackson."

"How were you able to detect us at all? I thought your beaming technology didn't work through their shields?"

"It does not. It appears that when you activated the self destruct, it took their shields off line, allowing me to transport you to safety."

Sam cut in, finally snapping out of her stupor.

"Thor, what about the Helvecon...err...Aelvan forces on the ground?"

"They have all been transported to holding rooms on the _Daniel Jackson_. Their presence on Earth has been removed."

"Thank you, Thor," she breathed out in a rush of relief.

While they were talking with Thor, Maya had fought way to her feet, her face drenched and puffy eyes red. She sniffled and tried to regain her composure when Teal'c stepped over to her.

"O'Neill is strong, Maya Rincon. I have learned many times that is never wise to presume that O'Neill has met his demise."

"I don't even want to know how many times _this_ has happened before. But thank you. I'll be okay, Teal'c."

"Indeed."

She crashed into his chest, his huge arms engulfing her as she tried to shake the panic of the last twenty minutes. Moments later, President Hayes appeared on the ship and was gaping at Thor.

"Greetings, President Hayes. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet."

He cleared his throat before extending his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Thor."

Thor surprised him by accepting the hand shake, and apparently that was clearly written on his face.

"O'Neill taught me of this customary greeting between humans on Earth."

Hayes chuckled. "Where is Jack, anyway?"

"O'Neill remains in the healing pod."

"He's okay, I hope?"

"He will be well again, however if our arrival was only moments later, he would have perished."

Hayes' eyes grew wide as he stood there in stunned silence for a moment.

"Sir, do you know what the situation is at the SGC?" Sam asked him.

"I don't, Colonel Carter. I was about to be briefed by the Secretary of Defense when I showed up here. It's just as well. Now, that Thor is here, the guy is fired anyway."

"What about moving forward?"

"Well, I'll need to speak to Jack about that. Anyway, Thor, was there something you needed? Not that I don't appreciate the visit."

"I only required your presence to inform you that all of the Aelva have been removed from Earth and all of their ships destroyed, but while this threat has been eliminated, they may very well return. Also, understand that it is the strong recommendation of the Asgard High Council that you seek the leadership of O'Neill when your Stargate program is reorganized. His departure from your program, especially in the manner in which it came about, threatened the status of Earth in the Protected Planets Treaty, as well as the safety of your planet itself. O'Neill is renowned among the Asgard, and is our recognized ambassador on Earth."

"I understand, Thor. We had some political goings on that made a mess of things, but it is being cleaned up as we speak."

"See that is, President Hayes. I will return you to the location from where you were taken."

As soon as Hayes was beamed away, the four of them heard a voice entering the room.

"So, campers, what did I miss?"

Jack called out when he walked in. He missed what Hayes had to say but didn't really care at the moment. If he needed to know, he was sure someone would tell him. As he stepped into the room, no one said anything. He saw Maya walking towards him with an intensity in those bright green eyes that frightened him yet melted him on the inside. He was ensnared by her gaze, helpless to look away. She tightly wrapped him in her arms with such strength that he thought Teal'c might have stepped in a grabbed him instead. After remaining locked in her grip for a minute he pulled back but kept an arm around her shoulders.

"Alright, what's the word from the other teams?"

"We don't know, sir. Thor said their life signs weren't on the ships before they were destroyed," Sam answered him before returning her stare to Maya.

"All of the ships are gone?"

"Yes, sir."

"Thor, we need to get down to the SGC and check on the rest of the guys."

"As you wish, O'Neill. I will remain in orbit for a short time in case the Aelva return."

"Thanks, buddy."

...

The next day, Jack exited his guest quarters at the SGC and began his walk to the briefing room. After they were beamed back to Earth early that morning, they discovered that SG-3 lost a man, but everyone else made it back to the SGC safely. They were, however, locked up in the brig again, and Jack's team was headed there too until Thor beamed General Hammond in to relieve General Ralph of his command. After that, Jack and Maya were given guest quarters for the night, neither one having a place to go, and the others went home until their scheduled debriefing.

As Jack was walking, he briefly remembered the last time he was in the facility legally. He thought he would never be back. His heart was broken, his career taken away, his friends gone, his love in love with someone else. Then he thought back to Thor dragging his drunk ass off of his dock well over a year ago. Hell, at the time, he didn't really care if he ever came back or not. Now, he didn't even feel like the same person as the miserable, depressed bastard that walked out of Cheyenne Mountain all of those months ago.

He neared the next hallway that led to the elevators when he heard the voice of one of the reasons for his improved mood these days. Then he heard what was going on and held his breath.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes," she said.

"Okay, how about a cup of coffee then? I won't keep you long."

Jack turned the corner and saw a young captain put his hand softly on Maya's arm.

"Get your hand off of me before I bust your ass," she snapped back at him.

Jack took that as a cue to enter the conversation.

"She'll do it too, Captain. I suggest you find someone else to bother."

"Yes, sir," he squeaked and ran off.

"We'll have to get you something for that. Maybe a stick to beat them all off of you," Jack teased her.

She didn't say anything, just giving him a brilliant smile. They walked in step with one another up to the briefing room and waited for the others to join them. Soon, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c took their seats, followed by General Hammond and President Hayes entering the room. Jack told the whole story from way back when Thor took him to Anteria, and the others filled in their parts in what happened up through last night.

"Well, once again it seems Earth owes SG-1 a huge debt, and you as well, Maya. As I've told Jack before, there will be an investigation into the corruption of federal officials and public servants, but there may not be much that can be done. What I can do is make sure that the leadership structure surrounding the program is sound so that something like this won't happen again," Hayes addressed the group.

"Jack, I'd like you to join me and George in his office. The rest of you are dismissed."

Jack gave him a quizzical look, but followed them into Hammond's office.

"Sirs," Jack announced while standing at attention.

"Have a seat, Jack. There are going to be some changes around here. It can't go back to the way it was before you left," Hammond told him.

"I figured that, sir. But what am I doing here? I'm retired."

"Not anymore, Jack," Hayes chimed in.

"Sir?"

"George is coming with me to Washington to oversee a new department encompassing all of the areas related to the Stargate program. That means we need someone to run this facility."

"Why me, sir?"

"You're the best we've got, Jack. It comes with a star, though it sounds like you've been a general for quite a while now even without it," Hayes said, alluding to his time on Anteria.

"A star?"

"That's right, General. Listen, I know you wanted to retire, but we need you, probably more than we ever have after this whole disaster."

General O'Neill? Ha! He wanted to rub it in the face of every bastard CO over the years that told him he would never amount to anything, or that he was more likely to end up in Leavenworth than ever make General. He knew he was going to take it. Just look at the guy that replaced Hammond this time. He couldn't take the chance of another Ralph or Bauer or someone similar taking over.

"When do I start, sir?"

"Take a week off, Jack. Then when you get back, the place is all yours," Hammond added.

"Can't wait, sir. Thank you."


	26. Fishing

Jack left Hammond's office and decided that he would break the news to his team, so he made his way to the commissary, figuring he would at least find the rest of the former SG-1 there. He walked in and found them, along with Maya, sitting at their old table in the corner. It seemed that Maya had big fans in Daniel and Teal'c, which really didn't surprise him. It was impossible to get to know her and not fall in...like her a lot. Sam didn't appear to be too fond of her, but he wasn't going to pretend to understand the dynamics between two newly introduced women. Not to mention, Maya killed Sam's ex-fiancee, so who knew what might be going on in her head? He grabbed a slice of chocolate cake and walked over to the table, pulling over a chair from the table next to them.

"Jack, what was that about?" Daniel asked him.

"What was what about, Daniel?" He just couldn't help riling him up.

"Jaaaaaack. What did the president want?"

"Well, it seems that I'm no longer retired."

"Colonel, are you coming back to SG-1?" Sam cut in.

"Not Colonel anymore, Colonel."

"Sir? General!?" she gasped.

"You got it. Hammond is being reassed to DC, and they want me to run the show here. I have no idea why, but Hayes didn't give me much choice in the matter. Besides, look at the clown who took over after they forced Hammond out. I'd rather do it then someone like him. I'm too old to be out in the field anymore anyway."

Maya snorted and interjected. "Yeah, maybe if you were younger you could have saved two worlds from the Aelva. Oh, right."

"Sir, you'll be great. You definitely deserve this. What about SG-1 though?" Sam asked.

"Carter, I haven't had any time to figure things out yet. I guess if Teal'c wants to come back, the three of you can handle SG-1 if you want. If you want a fourth, I'll look into it."

"I would happily pledge my allegiance to you in defense of the people of this world once again, O'Neill."

"Thanks, T."

"What's next, Jack. When do you start?" Daniel butted back in.

"Hammond gave me a week down time. He'll be here until I get back. I guess I need to find a house in Colorado Springs again. But first, I am way overdue for some fishing."

...

Later that afternoon, Jack was waiting for Feretti to drive his truck back to the base from the abandoned warehouse, so he was just wandering the halls when he stumbled upon Daniel's office. He stood in the doorway and saw Daniel reading an old book. The Space Monkey will be happy to get some rocks to play with again, that was for damn sure. He walked in a grabbed a pen off of the desk and started clicking it, first rapidly, then slowing down into a bit of a rhythm.

"Jack, do you have to... You know what? Never mind. I missed this," Daniel said, then chuckled at the uncomfortable look on Jack's face.

"I thought you would be on the road by now."

"Louis should be here with my truck any minute now, so I'm just killing time. I can't believe no one broke into the damn thing while it was sitting over there."

"Well, they were probably afraid that we were still there. We had quite a bit of firepower."

Jack smirked. "We did." Then Jack took a seat, continuing to click the pen.

"So, I'm guessing you'll be thrilled to get to play in the dirt on your missions again."

Daniel beamed a smile at him.

"God, Jack, you have no idea. It was so miserable here while you were gone. Honestly, the only reason I was even on the mission where we discovered that you were there was because we were supposed to start going to other planets again. Then, at the last minute, they sent us back to Anteria. If I had known we were going back there, I would have resigned."

"Resigned? It was that bad?"

"Yeah. Let's just say I'm glad everything is going to get back to normal. I can't wait until you get back."

"Well, I'll try to find some old ruins for your first mission under new management."

"No, you won't."

"You're right. I won't."

Daniel laughed. "So are you taking Maya to the cabin with you?"

Jack froze. He would if she wanted to go. She's got a choice to make again, though. Thor can take her back home if she wants. He'll have to talk to her.

"I don't know. I haven't asked her if she even wants to go."

"Oh, she wants to go."

"Daniel," Jack warned him.

"Jack, I know you never want to talk about anything, but I think you should go for it."

Jack sighed.

"Daniel, why Maya? Carter is single again. I thought you would be back to badgering me about her."

"Jack, you, Sam, and Teal'c are my family. I love Sam like a sister. She is an amazing person, and I want nothing more than for her to be happy. And I think that if she was with you, she would be. But if it interfered with her career, I wonder how happy she would let herself be, if at all. Or how happy she would let herself make you."

You're a brother to me, and you deserve to be happy too. You always put everyone else's happiness ahead of yours. Their safety ahead of yours. Their well being ahead of yours. Everyone else always comes first with you. What you deserve, and what I think would make you the happiest, would be someone that puts you first. And there's an incredible woman here that does. And you are in love with her. And she is in love with you. So go for it."

Jack's expression was blank as he contemplated Daniel's words.

"Daniel, she might not even want to stay here? This war is over. She can go back home and do whatever she wants, and probably be the first woman there to do it."

"She knows that, Jack. She knew that before. And she's still here. She wants to stay here with you."

"How do you know all of this? Did you talk to her about it?"

"Not specifically, but I have talked to her, and she never once mentioned wanting to go home."

"I guess I'd better talk to her," he groaned. Talking was definitely not his favorite pastime.

"You do that, Jack," Daniel offered with a smirk on his face.

Jack nodded and turned his back to Daniel, walking toward the door.

"See you in a week, Danny boy."

"Have a good time."

Jack walked out the door and, being the master of avoiding heavy conversations, decided to get a cup of coffee from the commissary before finding Maya. Of course, as luck would have it, she was standing right in front of him in line. After she got her coffee, she turned around and finally noticed him, the green BDUs she wore accentuating the startling green of her eyes.

"Hi, Jack."

"Maya. Hang on a second."

She nodded while he got his cup of coffee. Then he turned to her and gestured with his hand for them to walk, falling in stride with each other.

"So, when you are leaving for the cabin," she asked him. Did she look anxious?

"Pretty soon here. I wanted to talk to you though. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?"

"Where were you headed?"

"My quarters."

"That's fine with me if it's okay with you."

"Okay."

When they reached the door to her quarters, she swiped her card to unlock the door and they stepped inside. Jack briefly noticed how empty the room was and wondered how likely it was that she would want to stay here with nothing but a bag of clothes instead of going home.

"What's up, Jack?"

"Well, I, um, wanted to talk to you about what you're going to do now. Thor is still here, and if you want to go home, he can take you."

"And if I don't want to? Is there a place for me here?"

"Of course there is. I don't know what you would do yet. You can be a soldier on one of the teams if you want, or we can find something else if you don't, but you are more than welcome to stay here if that's what you want to do."

"Okay, then let's do that."

"Just like that? You don't want to think about it?"

"Jack, didn't we go over this before?"

"That was before the war was over."

"Well, I haven't changed my mind about where I want to be."

Jack heaved out a deep breath and gave her a devastating smile.

"Jack, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure."

"How are you doing with seeing Sam again?"

"What!?"

How the hell did she know? He understood everyone else knowing, because they saw him pine over her for years, but he wasn't even pining anymore. Or was it Daniel's big mouth?

"Daniel?"

"Yeah, he mentioned your past with her, or without her I guess."

"Of course he did," Jack growled.

"Jack?"

"Maya, it's been fine. I can honestly tell you that I am not bothered in the least being around her anymore. Any...feelings...at least feelings of more than friendship, are long gone."

She stared a hole through him as though she was assessing the truth in his statement, and he wondered just how well she could read him.

"Good. I'm glad."

"You are?" Jack asked with a smirk on his face.

She gave him her biggest smile and nodded. Then she stepped up to him, reached for the back of his head, and pulled him down into a searing kiss. After they broke for air and regained their senses, Jack spoke up.

"So, Maya, you want to go fishing?"

She giggled. "I thought you'd never ask."

"Your bag is already in the truck. All I have to do unload everyone else's stuff and we can head out."

"Let's go then."

Jack leaned down to kiss her one more time, pulling her body against his and pushing his tongue into her mouth as soon as she opened it. It stole her breath and left her looking dazed. Then he gave her a devilish grin and held his hand out toward the door.

"After you."


	27. He's Back

Jack walked into his new office for the first time as commander of the SGC and took a seat at the desk he sat on the other side of for years. There was a mountain of paperwork staring back at him, which made him question what the hell he was doing here. Still, he sucked it up and grabbed the first file. A smile came to his face for a moment when he thought about what was waiting for him after work, and that helped to lift his mood.

The past week at the cabin he had been happier than he'd been in many years. Maya was the sweetheart she always was, but as she had grown more comfortable with him over the months, he found that she had quite the mouth on her. That didn't bother him, he rather liked it, but it would probably make for some interesting arguments at some point down the road. He then chuckled at the thought that she called living at the cabin "a life of luxury". He'd survived some damn inhospitable conditions in his life, but 'luxury' wasn't the word that came to mind when he thought about his cabin in the middle of nowhere. Still, to her, it might seem that way. It had been years since she lived in a house. Since he met her, she lived in an underground tunnel and then a burned out warehouse.

Regarding their relationship, because of her past, he was going to let her set the pace. He was just happy she was there, so he had no plans to scare her off by trying something she wasn't ready for, no matter how much he wanted to. Of course, she threw that out the window on the third night in Minnesota when she went downstairs and grabbed Jack by the hand, dragging him from the couch up to bed. He understood it had been a long time for her, almost as long as it had been for him, but she was insatiable, and he certainly had no complaints about that.

He still tried to deny to himself that he loved her, even though he really knew otherwise. But he didn't want to blurt it out and frighten her, and this was too new anyway. She could end up not being able to stand being around him now that he was back home, able to settle back in to his old routine of working too hard and just being an all around prick at times. As much as he tried, though, the denial was difficult. She could read him better than anyone. She really got him. Understood him. He felt a bit bad about that, because it was probably the tragedies she'd suffered that allowed her to relate to him so easily, and he would do anything to take that away from her, even though he knew he couldn't. Apparently, she even shared his dislike of deathbed confessions. When she silenced him when he was dying on the ship, and when she didn't offer any words of her own, she explained that while she didn't know what he was going to say, she didn't need to hear anything or say anything. Jack wholeheartedly agreed. Anyone can say anything to someone when one of them is dying, because they won't be around to see the truth of their words. Words alone never carried much weight with Jack anyway, and that Maya felt the same was only one more thing that endeared her to him.

Oh well, it was time to get work. The Goa'uld didn't go on vacation because Earth was busy with someone else this past year and a half. Opening the file in his hand, he read about a planet with ruins of an old civilization and Ancient text in various places. SG-1 would be perfect. Maybe they would find something useful, and Danny boy would be happier than a pig in shit. It had been rough for him too since the whole mess with the Aelva began, so Jack thought he would give him a treat. He began putting together some missions and getting back into the swing of it, not for one second missing the emptiness that used to accompany him when he would bury himself in his work.

...

Sam walked into the gym to see Teal'c lifting an ungodly amount of weight on the bench press, the bar bending slightly in the middle from the strain of the plates on the ends of it, and talking to Maya in between sets. She just stood there taking in this woman. Her long, wavy brown hair, her sparkling green eyes, her unrestrained smile at Teal'c's subtle humor. Even in BDUs, she looked so feminine. Sam refused to acknowledge why she was so irritated by Maya's presence. If she did indeed spend the week at the cabin with the General, as the rumor mill was saying, well, he deserved to have someone in his life. And apparently Daniel and Teal'c really liked her too, so she was probably a good person. Still, now that things were going to get back to normal, she felt an unexplainable need to put this woman in her place. She stretched out for a few minutes before approaching Maya.

"Good morning, Maya."

"Hi, Sam," Maya answered with guarded eyes.

"Did you find out what you're going to be doing around here yet?"

"Not yet. For now, I'll just fill in if someone is needed to join a team off world. I don't really want to be on a team full time if I don't have to, so Jack is trying to find other options."

"Okay. Well, if you're going to be going off world, you'll want to make sure you keep yourself sharp. I know the General said you can fight, but if you want to spar, I'd be happy to work with you. You know, so you don't get rusty."

Sam watched Maya's shuttered gaze bore into her.

"I appreciate the offer, Sam, but I've been working with Jack for months. I'll be fine."

"Well, if you have to join my team for a mission, I'll want to make sure of that, Maya. I don't want to have any question of your readiness in the field."

Sam cursed herself while facing Maya's silent interrogation again. What was she doing? Just leave the woman alone. She wouldn't be here if the General didn't trust her abilities. She just couldn't help herself. She wanted Maya to know who she was dealing with. Why did she feel this way? She asked the question on the surface and then refused to contemplate the answer.

"Why, do you have something in mind, Sam?" Maya answered with a wicked gleam in her eyes. Sam guessed that Maya was done backing down, which for some reason just stoked her fire even more.

"I came down here to get some work in. I would be happy to spar with you now, since you're here," Sam replied with more of an edge to her voice than she intended.

Maya took off her green BDU jacket, revealing her black, standard issue tank top. The jacket hid how toned her arms were, and exposing them made her look a bit more threatening, which got Sam's adrenaline kicking in. All rational thought was quickly fleeing her mind.

"Sure, let's go," was Maya's answer.

Sam handed Maya a pair of gloves and they took a few steps over to the mat and began grappling. When Maya kept throwing Sam to the ground, she realized that Jack had been training her up quite a bit. No longer underestimating Maya, Sam picked up the pace and it was a more even fight. Still, every time Maya had Sam pinned to the ground or blocked her advances, Sam grew more and more aggravated. Finally, Sam threw a stiff punch and connected with Maya's jaw, staggering her.

The fire Sam saw in Maya's eyes told her that she was through holding back, which invigorated Sam. Now the shots they traded were more like a street fight than a sparring session, spit spraying in the air when a punch landed, one hit from Maya busting Sam's lips open.

Teal'c immediately took notice and sat up on the weight bench, watching the proceedings. Everyone else in the room was standing silently and watching in awe. Daniel walked in the door and saw the punches being thrown and the reaction of everyone in the room. He immediately turned to the door and called out to the airman standing outside.

"Airman, can you have General O'Neill paged down here right away."

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later, Jack stepped in the doorway to see Maya and Sam lying on the mat, Maya with a choke hold on Sam from behind with her legs wrapped around Sam's waist to keep her from flipping them. After seeing Maya and Sam in tank tops all sweaty and tussled and fired up, he turned over to Daniel.

"Daniel? We could have charged admission for this."

"Jack, look at them."

He walked up to them and looked closer, seeing the blood dripping from Sam's lip and that she was turning blue.

"Maya? Carter? I think we've had enough for today," Jack barked.

Maya released the choke hold and whispered in Sam's ear.

"How is my readiness for the field, Colonel?"

Maya stood up before Sam could reply and walked over to pick up her jacket.

"Ladies, go get cleaned up and meet me in my office in 15," Jack ordered them. After they left, he walked over to Daniel and Teal'c.

"So, what the hell was that all about?"

"I am unaware, O'Neill. I was conversing with Maya Rincon when Colonel Carter entered the room. She appeared to be determined to spar with her today."

"Jack, what are you going to do?"

"About what, Daniel? I'll talk to them and that will be the end of it.

...

And that was the end of it. Jack spoke to them. Neither of them admitted to knowing why the session got so heated, and they both swore that it wouldn't happen again. Jack didn't really care why it happened, as long as he knew it was over and done with. He knew Carter was too good an officer to let it happen again after being warned about it, and he knew Maya well enough to know that she didn't instigate the fight in the first place. Later that evening, Jack was sitting on the armchair in his quarters with Maya on his lap when the topic came up again.

"I'm pretty sure she still has feelings for you and is jealous of me. I'm guessing that's what started the whole thing," Maya told him.

"Feelings for me? No, she doesn't."

"Jack, trust me. I'm a woman. I know."

He let out a sigh.

"Fine, whether or not you're right, it doesn't matter. She'll have to deal with it. I didn't go around attacking guys she was seeing, and I was a lot more invested at the time than she might be now."

"Maybe you should talk to her."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's the last thing I want to do. Only if it becomes absolutely necessary. She's a great officer. After today, she won't pull that again."

"I hope not. I don't want to cause problems here."

"You didn't cause anything. And it wasn't a big deal. People get into fights. Besides, with the way you kicked her ass, that will probably keep everyone else from bothering you too."

She snorted and shifted her weight down a bit so she could lay her head on his shoulder.

"I miss the cabin. It was much nicer than this place."

He smiled at her, though she couldn't see it.

"We'll get back there soon."

"Any luck on finding a house yet?"

"The real estate agent found a couple of options. I'm going to look at them tomorrow."

"You mind if I join you?"

"No, not at all."

"It's a date then."

She looked at him and closed the gap between their lips.

...

The next morning, the three members of SG-1 were seated around the table in the briefing room waiting to hear about their next mission. Sam was mortified about her behavior the previous day and wondered how the General would act around her. She looked in the window to his office to see him talking on the red phone, and she just sat there observing him. He looked relaxed. He looked happy. There was life in those dark, captivating eyes. He never looked like that as long as she had known him. And most recently, before he was driven out by the Aelva, she remembered the disconsolate man leading SG-1. He always looked so tired, so alone, so miserable. She didn't let herself notice at the time, but apparently she did deep down, because the image of his face back then was clear in her mind and a stark contrast to what he looked like now. Now he was a year and half older, but he looked ten years younger.

How could she have acted the way she did yesterday? Maya had never done anything to her. And apparently she was doing good by Jack, and he of anyone she knew deserved to be happy. Just because she was a complete idiot when it came to her personal life didn't give her the right to interfere in his. She essentially freed him from any future expectations between them, and this was the risk she took. And that was the point, right? Find a life without him? Well, she certainly managed to do that.

After hanging up the phone, Jack stood and walked in the door. Sam rose to her feet before Jack quickly waved her down.

"Carter, don't tell me I'm going to have to do that every time I walk into a room you're in."

"Sorry, sir," she replied sheepishly.

"Alright campers, today we've got P3D-557. Abandoned civilization. Ancient text. One of the geeks reported on some energy readings. Sounds like a job for SG-1."

As Jack was going over their mission, Sam sat there and watched their interactions. She'd already noticed Jack's liveliness, but now she watched the others too. Teal'c sat there stoically like he always did, but she could even see by the slight tug of his lips on occasion that he was enjoying himself. Daniel's face was lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. She had a feeling that the General gave them this mission just to lift Daniel's spirits.

"Got all of that, Carter?"

"Yes, sir. I'll investigate the energy readings and let Daniel dig up as many rocks as he wants to."

Jack gave her a breathtaking smile that almost broke her, but she couldn't help but answer with one of her own.

"Within reason, Carter. Okay, kids. You ship out at 1300. Dismissed."

"Jack!" Daniel called out to him before he left the room.

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Thank you."

"Think nothing of it, Space Monkey. Just don't get yourself hurt. And don't touch anything Carter tells you not to."

"I'm glad you're back, Jack."

Jack slapped him on the back and patted him once on his cheek. Then with a smile on his face, he replied.

"Me too, Daniel. Me too."


End file.
